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[ 17 TYPES 

OF 

CHILDREN’S LITERATURE 


A COLLECTION OF 
THE WORLD’S BEST LITERATURE 
FOR CHILDREN 

FOR USE IN COLLEGES, NORMAL SCHOOLS 
AND LIBRARY SCHOOLS 

Collected and Edited 

BY / 

WALTER BARNES, A. M. 

HEAD OF THE ENGLISH DEPARTMENT 
STATE NORMAL SCHOOL, FAIRMONT 
WEST VIRGINIA 
AUTHOR OF 

ENGLISH IN THE COUNTRY SCHOOL 
EDITOR OF 

PALGR AYE'S GOLDEN TREASURY 



Yonkers-on-Hudson, New York 
WORLD BOOK COMPANY 
1919 




WORLD BOOK COMPANY 


THE HOUSE OF APPLIED KNOWLEDGE 

Established, 1905, by Caspar W. Hodgson 

Yonkers-on-Hudson, New York 
2126 Prairie Avenue, Chicago 


Application of the world’s knowledge to 
the world’s needs is the guiding aim of 
this publishing house, and it is in con- 
formity to this aim that Types of Chil- 
dren’s Literature is published. There is 
need of helpful direction for parents and 
teachers who wish to place within reach 
of every child the beauty, wisdom, and 
knowledge stored up in the world’s best 
literature for children. The domain is so 
vast, so rich, and so varied that a single 
volume which presents specimens of all the 
different types for study and analysis by 
older readers and for reading by the chil- 
dren themselves, may hope to make easy 
and natural for children the entrance to 
the pleasant land of books 



BTCL-I 

Copyright, 1919, by World Book Company 


J 


All rights reserved 


APR 26 1919 

©CI.A525266 J 



PREFACE 


This collection of specimens of children’s literature has evolved 
itself naturally and, as it were, inevitably out of the editor’s experi- 
ence in teaching classes in children’s literature in normal school 
and college, and it is published in the belief that other teachers of 
this subject find the same need of such a book that the editor has 
experienced. For it is obvious that if we are to conduct classes in 
children’s literature either for general culture or for specific train- 
ing of teachers, we must have specimens of children’s literature 
readily accessible to the students. We must bring students to a 
knowledge and appreciation of any author, period, or type by hav- 
ing them study representative selections, and this principle applies 
as logically to courses in children’s literature as to courses in other 
kinds of literature. 

Types of Children s Literature is intended to provide students of 
the subject with a single-volume anthology of prose and poetry 
illustrative of the different types, styles, interests, periods, authors, 
etc., of writings for children. There are, of course, many collec- 
tions of specimens of children’s literature; but they are all made as 
reading books for children and, consequently, are unsatisfactory, in 
some important respect or other, as source books. Moreover, these 
collections are published in several volumes and contain much that 
is mediocre and trivial. As far as the editor has been able to dis- 
cover, there is but a single one-volume collection, and that collec- 
tion, having been compiled solely for juvenile readers, is imprac- 
ticable as a text for college and normal school classes. In teaching 
classes in children’s literature the present editor has had to use, as 
the only possible text, such sets of literary readers as the Heart of 
Oak series or such miniature libraries as the ten -volume The Chil- 
drens Hour or the eight-volume Children’s Classics. This proced- 
ure has been both expensive and inconvenient for teacher and 
students, besides not supplying some of the material desirable in 
any symmetrical outline of study. 

In compiling the book the editor kept in mind several guiding 
aims. Foremost was the wish to include in the collection at least 
one selection — and that a masterpiece — of each type and kind of 
children’s literature in the English language. The different species 
of prose and poetry; the various kinds of stories, such as fables, 
myths, and fairy stories; the fundamental forms of discourse, such 
as narration, description, the sketch, the essay, the oration, letters — 

iii 


iv Preface 

nearly all the molds, so to speak, into which the molten literary 
stream has flowed — all these types are represented by the choicest 
specimens in the range of children’s literature. 

A careful inspection of the selections in this volume will reveal 
the rich variety of the material. Specimens are to be found of 
folk literature and modern literature, of ‘the romantic, of the real- 
istic, of , the crude and naive, of the artistic and sophisticated, of 
the humorous and the pathetic. The editor has tried to find speci- 
mens presenting as many themes, as many interests, as many emo- 
tions as possible, characteristic specimens of the most important 
authors for children, of all the civilizations that have produced lit- 
eratures which have become a part of the English-speaking child’s 
heritage. The collection contains literature for the little child and 
literature for the boy or girl in the early ’teens, and it ranges 
from primitive times down to this present decade. Moreover, since 
a considerable part of the body of children’s literature is made up 
of original selections made over for children, a few masterpieces 
of translations, re-tellings, abridgments, and reproductions have 
been included. 

The editor hopes that he has allotted a proportionate and equita- 
ble amount of space and emphasis to each type, department, and 
section of the collection. He had it in mind, at least, to give as 
many pages over to poetry, for example, in proportion to prose, as 
many pages to fairy stories, for example, in proportion to myths, 
as would indicate roughly the average child’s interests. If this 
proportion is not due and just, as the editor sometimes fears, it is 
to be hoped that critics will realize the web of difficulties in which 
such a task as this is entangled. 

A word as to the classification and nomenclature. The editor 
realizes that this is neither original nor accurate. It is certainly 
not scientific, as the types overlap here and there, and the names 
are based partly on form and partly on content. But classification 
and class names were indispensable in a book of this nature, and 
it seemed a better policy to employ the classification and the names 
already firmly established in common use than to attempt to subject 
to a new system of scientific terms that which is by nature not 
amenable to scientific laws and scientific precision. The classifica- 
tion appears only in the Contents; it does not stand forth in the 
book itself. 

It should be said, further, that the order in which the different 
types are placed in the book is more or less arbitrary, having been 
determined largely by the succession in which children take them 


Preface v 

up from year to year, beginning with the simpler forms and more 
childish themes, and somewhat by the principle of similarity and 
contrast in the types themselves. Needless to say, teachers will 
change the order in which the species and specimens are studied in 
accordance with any well-defined plan of their own. 

A distinct service has been rendered, the editor hopes, by present- 
ing the definitive and authoritative versions of all the selections 
given. This has meant a painstaking reading of every line in every 
selection and the collation with editions that are trustworthy. Every 
student of children’s literature knows that it has been almost impos- 
sible to find exact readings, and that most selections have been dis- 
torted and garbled to suit the purposes of editors. No changes from 
the originals have here been made except to abridge in a few in- 
stances where it seemed imperative in a book intended for reading 
and discussion in classes of both sexes. The editions used and the 
changes made are given in the Notes. 

The problems involved in selecting the best versions of certain 
stories and the best translations from other languages have been dif- 
ficult. In general, the editor endeavored to choose the form which 
seemed to have the highest literary value. In cases where two trans- 
lations seemed to possess equal merit, both are represented. 

Every specimen of literature in this collection is a complete unit 
or is at least a section easily detached — like an Uncle Remus or 
an Arabian Nights story — from its original setting. This princi- 
ple precluded the inclusion of extracts from such children’s classics 
as Gulliver’s Travels , Robinson Crusoe , and Treasure Island. No 
survey of children’s literature is complete without an examination 
of such books as these; but they can easily be supplied in inex- 
pensive editions and used as supplementary to this collection. 

It is evident that not every masterpiece of writing for children 
could be included in this volume; but it is believed that no selection 
has been included that is not a masterpiece. This belief is based 
primarily on the fact that most of the specimens have been chosen 
and approved by generation after generation of children, culled out 
from the light and worthless as by an unerring hand, through the 
most pragmatic of tests. 

The only distinct type of children’s literature not represented in 
this collection is the drama, which is omitted because the editor 
was not able to find a dramatic unit that would satisfy the ideal 
he had in mind: that it be dramatic, that it be literary, that it be 
brief, yet complete within itself, and that it be an original selection, 
not a dramatization of some classic. For a similar reason no story 


vi Preface 

of American Indian life was put into the collection, though this 
exclusion does not mean the omission of a type of literature. A 
large number of Indian stories, both of Indian folklore and myth, 
and of adventures with Indians, were carefully read; but not one 
of them, in the editor’s opinion, came up to the standard of a mas- 
terpiece and was, at the same time, brief enough to be practicable 
for this book. Some undoubted masterpieces from literatures lying 
outside the recognized circle of the American child’s 44 culture ” — 
such, for example, as the Japanese folk stories — also have been 
omitted. Other splendid specimens of juvenile literature, as stories 
from Kipling’s Jungle Books and essays from Burroughs, have been 
omitted because of copyright restrictions. 

No one realizes more clearly than does the editor of this collec- 
tion that no single book can include all the material that a class 
studying children’s literature should have before it. There are doz- 
ens of children’s books, for example, that a class should know or 
know about. An appendix has therefore been placed at the end of 
this collection, which lists the reading indispensable to a student 
of children’s literature. These books should be in the school library, 
easily accessible to the students, and they should be considered as 
an integral part of the body of children’s literature. 

As a compendium of good literature for children it is hoped that 
this book may interest parents and teachers, quite independently 
of the fact that it was prepared for classes of young men and women 
studying children’s literature, and that it may be put into the hands 
of children. 

There remains but the pleasant duty of acknowledging the advice 
and encouragement received from many persons interested in this 
subject. To the publishing houses who have granted permission to 
use copyrighted material and to the Librarian of Congress thanks 
are due for courtesies extended. To Mr. David Dale Johnson of 
West Virginia University for collating; to Mr. Hunter Whiting for 
a great deal of copying and collating; and especially to Professor 
Franklin T. Baker of Teachers College, Columbia University, Pro- 
fessor James F. Hosic of the Chicago Normal College, and Mr. John 
Cotton Dana of the Newark, New Jersey, Free Public Library, for 
advice and criticism on the manuscript, — to all of these the editor 
hereby expresses his gratitude. 

W. B. 

Fairmont, West Virginia 


CONTENTS 


BOOK ONE— POETRY 

Nursery Jingles 


Character Sketches page 

Little Miss Muffet 1 

Diddle, diddle, dumpling 1 

Let’s go to bed 1 

Jack Sprat • . 1 

There was a little girl 1 


Scenes and Incidents 

Jack and Jill 

Hickory, dickory, dock . 

There was an old woman 
Peter, Peter, pumpkin eater 
Little Jack Horner . 

Tales 

Old Mother Hubbard 
Little Bo-peep .... 
The Babes in the Woods . 

Nonsense and Humorous Rhymes 
Old Dan Tucker 
Old Man John 
We’re all in the dumps . 

I had a little horse . 

Satires and Taunts 
Georgy-porgy 
April fool .... 
Johnny’s mad 
Cry, baby,, cry 
Tell-tale-tit .... 

Tongue Twisters 

Peter Piper .... 

Swan swam over the sea 

Counting-out jingles 
Ickity, pickity 
One-ery, two-ery . 

Inty, minty 
Intery, mintery 


vii 


<N<N<N<N<N <N CO r? Tf lO i/5 i/5 l/5 LO lO VO VO VO VO VO vO vO N 


Contents 


viii 

Gesture and Action Songs page 

Trit-trot 7 

Hippity-hop 7 

This little mouse 7 

Here we go up, up, up 7 

Riddles 

A Cherry 8 

A Fodder Field, a Hog, and a Dog 8 

Hens 8 

A Churn 8 

An Egg 8 

A Star 8 

Catches 

There was a man who had no eyes 8 

I am a gold lock 9 

As I was going to St. Ives 9 

Charms and Superstitions 

Star of light 9 

Marble, marble, roll away 9 

Honest and true 9 

Come, butter, come 10 

Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John 10 

Mole on the neck 10 

Weather Wisdom 

Rain before seven 10 

Evening red 10 

When the fog goes up the hill 10 

When the bees all homeward fly 10 

Aids to the Memory 

One, two, three, four 10 

Naught, one 10 

In fourteen hundred and ninety-two 11 

Thirty days hath September 11 

Proverbs 

Birds of a feather 11 

He that would thrive 11 

Little strokes 11 

See a pin and pick it up .11 

For every evil under the sun 12 


Contents 


IX 


Peddlers' Cries page 

Pease porridge hot 12 

Hot-cross buns 12 


Some Children’s Poets 


William Blake 

Piping down the valleys wild 13 

The Lamb 13 

Laughing Song 14 

Christina Rossetti 

The Wind 15 

The City Mouse and the Garden Mouse 15 

Lullaby 15 

A Flint 16 

The Sisters 16 

Robert Louis Stevenson 

The Wind 17 

Windy Nights 17 

The Whole Duty of Children 18 

My Bed Is a Boat 18 

The Land of Counterpane 18 

The Land of Storybooks 19 

Lucy Larcom 

If I Were a Sunbeam 20 

The Rivulet 20 

The Brown Thrush 21 

Ann and Jane Taylor 

Meddlesome Matty 22 

The Violet 23 

The Star 24 

The Way to be Happy 24 

Isaac Watts 

Against Idleness and Mischief 26 

A Morning Song 26 

A Cradle Hymn 27 

Lewis Carroll 

Jabberwocky 28 

You Are Old, Father William 29 

The Walrus and the Carpenter 30 


X 


Contents 


Edward Lear 

There was an Old Man of the West 
There was an Old Man with a beard 
There was an Old Person of Dean 
There was a Young Lady whose chin 
There is a Young Lady whose nose 
The Owl and the Pussy-Cat . 

The Jumblies 


Ballads 

Barbara Alla^i . 

Sir Patrick Spence 

Robin Hood and Allin a Dale . 
Kinmont Willie 

Modern 

The Wreck of the Hesperus . 

La Belle Dame sans Merci 
Lord Ullin’s Daughter 
Young Lochinvar .... 
How They Brought the Good News 
The Revenge . . . . . 


Popular 

Bonn\ 


Longfellow 

Keats 

Campbell 

Scott 

Browning 

Tennyson 


Our Country LYMCS 

America 

My Native Land 

Columbus 

Landing of the Pilgrim Fathers . 

Concord Hymn 

Old Ironsides 

0 Captain! My Captain! . 


Love Lyrics 
To Lucasta 
She Walks in Beauty . 
A Red, Red Rose . 


Poems of Nature 

The Greenwood Tree .... 
A Wet Sheet and a Flowing Sea . 
I Wandered Lonely as a Cloud . 

The Rhodora 

To the Fringed Gentian . 

The Eagle 

On the Grasshopper and Cricket 


Smith 

Scott 

Miller 

Hemans . 

Emerson 

Holmes . 

Whitman 

Lovelace 

Byron 

Burns 


Shakespeare 

Cunningham 

Wordsworth 

Emerson 

Bryant 

Tennyson 

Keats 


PAGE 

33 

33 

33 

33 

33 

33 

34 


37 

38 
40 
43 


49 

52 

53 

55 

56 
58 


63 

64 

64 

65 
67 

67 

68 


70 

70 

71 


72 

72 

73 

74 

74 

75 
75 


Contents xi 

Lessons from Nature PAGE 

To a Waterfowl Bryant .... 76 

The Chambered Nautilus . . . Holmes .... 77 

The Bugle Song Tennyson ... 78 

Songs of Life 

The Noble Nature Jonson .... 79 

The Character of a Happy Life . Wotton .... 79 

Say Not the Struggle Nought Availeth Clough .... 80 

For A’ That and A’ That .... Burns .... 80 

Invictus Henley .... 82 

Opportunity Sill 82 

A Psalm of Life Longfellow ... 83 


BOOK TWO— PROSE 


STORIES 

Fables 


The Dog and the Shadow . 

. TEsop 

. 85 

The Fox and the Grapes 

. A Esop . . . 

. 85 

The Hare and the Tortoise . 

AEsop 

. 85 

The Shepherd’s Boy .... 

A. Esop 

. 86 

The Husbandman and the Stork 

. TEsop 

. 86 

The Wind and the Sun .... 

A. Esop 

. 86 

The Tortoise and the Geese 

Bidpai 

. 87 

The Partridge and the Crow 

Bidpai ... 

. 88 

The Fox and the Grapes 

La Fontaine . 

. 89 

The Wolf and the Stork 

La Fontaine . 

. 89 


Fairy Stories and Nursery Tales 

TRADITIONAL 

The Accumulative Tale 

The Old Woman and Her Pig . . Jacobs 

. 91 

The Animal Story 

The Three Little Pigs 

Jacobs 

. 92 

The Noodle Story 

Hans in Luck 

Grimm 

. 95 

The Humble Hero Story 

The Valiant Little Tailor .... 

Grimm 

. 98 

Cinderella 

Perrault . 

. 105 

Whittington and His Cat .... 

Old Chapbook . 

. 110 


Contents 


xii 


The Symbolistic Story 


PAGE 

The Ugly Duckling 

Andersen 

. 117 

The Flax 

Andersen 

. 125 

The Story of Horror 

Blue Beard 

Perrault . 

. 129 

The Giant Story 

Jack and the Beanstalk .... 

Jacobs 

. 133 

Miscellaneous Stories 

The Elves 

Grimm 

. 139 

The Frog-Prince 

Grimm 

. 140 

The Quern at the Bottom of the Sea . 

Asbjfirnsen . 

. 142 

The Negro Folk Tale 

Brother Rabbit and Brother Bull-Frog 

Harris 

. 146 

MODERN 

Brownie and the Cook 

Craik 

. 155 

The King of the Golden River . 

Ruskin 

. 161 

The Oriental Wonder Story 


The Story of Aladdin 

Arabian Nights . 

. 183 


Myths and Legends 
classic 


The Gorgon’s Head . 


. 267 

Theseus . 


, 286 


GERMANIC 


Thor Goes a-Fishing . 


. 311 

Baldur . . . . 


. 315 


The Hero Story 


Sir William Wallace . 


. 327 


The Reproduction 

The Tempest Shakes pear e-Lamb . 339 


Contents xiii 

Didactic Stories page 

The Purple Jar Edgeworth . . . 349 

Difference and Agreement .... Aiken and Barbauld 354 
Eyes and No Eyes Aiken and Barbauld 356 


Animal Sketches and Stories 

Rab and His Friends Brown .... 363 

The Busy Blue Jay Miller .... 375 

A Cry in the Night Long .... 378 

Selections from the Bible 

The Story of Joseph 389 

The Story of Samson 408 

David’s Psalms: First, Nineteenth, Twenty-third .... 413 

Christ’s Sermon on the Mount 415 

Paul’s Discourse on Charity 419 


OTHER PROSE FORMS 
Letters 


Lewis Carroll to Miss Standen 


. 421 

Thomas Hood to Miss Elliot . 



. 421 

Charles Dickens to Master Hughes 


. 422 

Essays 

Trait' of Indian Character .... 

Irving 

. 425 

Of Studies 

Bacon 

. 434 

The American Boy 

Roosevelt 

. 435 

Orations 



Give Me Liberty or Give Me Death 

Henry 

. 441 

Supposed Speech of John Adams . 

Webster . 

. 443 

Gettysburg Address 

Lincoln . 

. 446 

Appendix '. 


. 447 

Notes 


. 453 


Index to Authors, Titles, and. the First Lines of Poems . 461 





_ 


• - 















* 


































































































































































































TYPES OF CHILDREN’S LITERATURE 


NURSERY JINGLES 


Little Miss Muffet 
Sat on a tuffet, 

Eating of curds and whey; 

Along came a spider 
And sat down beside her, 

Which frightened Miss Muffet away. 


Diddle, diddle, dumpling, my son John 
Went to bed with his stockings on ; 

One shoe off, the other shoe on, — 

Diddle, diddle, dumpling, my son John. 


44 Let’s go to bed,” 

Says Sleepy-head; 

44 Let’s stay awhile,” says Slow; 
44 Put on the pot,” 

Says Greedy-sot, 

44 We’ll sup before we go.” 


Jack Sprat could eat no fat, 

His wife could eat no lean: 
And so betwixt them both, you see, 
They licked the platter clean. 


There was a little girl, 

And she had a little curl 

Right in the middle of her forehead; 
When she was good, 

She was very, very good ; 

But when she was bad — she was horrid. 1 

1 Attributed to Longfellow. 

1 


Types of Childrens Literature 

Jack and Jill went up the hill 
To fetch a pail of water; 

Jack fell down and broke his crown, 
And Jill came tumbling after. 


Hickory, dickory, dock, 

The mouse ran up the clock. 
The clock struck one, 
And down he run, — 
Hickory, dickory, dock 


There was an old woman who lived in a shoe; 

She had so many children she didn’t know what to do. 
She gave them some broth without any bread, 

And whipped them all soundly and put them to bed. 


Peter, Peter, pumpkin eater, 

Had a wife and couldn’t keep her. 
He put her in a pumpkin shell, 

And there he kept her very well. 


Little Jack Horner 
Sat in a corner, 

Eating a Christmas pie : 

He put in his thumb 
And pulled out a plum 
And said, “ What a good boy am I ! ” 


Old Mother Hubbard 
Went to the cupboard 

To get her poor dog a bone; 

But when she got there, 

The cupboard was bare, 

And so the poor dog had none. 

She went to the baker’s 
To buy him some bread; 


3 


Nursery Jingles 

And when she came back, 
The poor dog was dead. 

She went to the joiner’s 
To buy him a coffin; 

And when she came back, 
The doggy was laughin’. 

She went to the butcher’s 
To buy him some tripe; 

And when she came back, 

He was smoking his pipe. 

She went to the hatter’s 
To buy him a hat; 

And when she came back, 

He was feeding the cat. 

She went to the barber’s 
To buy him a wig; 

And when she came back, 

He was dancing a jig. 

She went to the tailor’s 
To buy him a coat; 

And when she came back, 

He was riding a goat. 

She went to the cobbler’s 
To buy him some shoes; 

And when she came back, 
He was reading the news. 


Little Bo-peep 
She lost her sheep, 

And couldn’t tell where to find them. 
44 Let them alone 
And they’ll come home, 

Wagging their tails behind them.” 


4 


Types of Children s Literature 

Little Bo-peep 
Fell fast asleep 

And dreamt she heard them bleating, 
But when she awoke, 

She found it a joke, 

For still they all were fleeting. 

Then up she took 
Her little crook, 

Determined for to find them. 

She found them indeed, 

But it made her heart bleed, — 

For they’d left their tails behind them. 


My dear, do you know 
A long time ago 

Two poor little children, 

Whose names I don’t know, 

Were taken away on a bright summer day 
And left in the woods, as I’ve heard people say. 

And when it was night, 

How sad was their plight! 

The sun it went down 
And the stars hid their light. 

They sobbed and they sighed and sadly they cried, 
Till the poor little things at last lay down and died. 

And when they were dead, 

The robins so red 

Brought beech and oak leaves 
And over them spread. 

And all the day long, the branches among, 

They sang to them softly, and this was their song: 

“ Poor babes in the woods, poor babes in the woods, 
Oh, who will come find the poor babes in the woods? ” 


Old Dan Tucker was a fine old man; 

He washed his face in a frying pan, 

He combed his hair with a wagon wheel, 
And died with the toothache in his heel. 


Nursery Jingles 

Old Man John sitting down by the spring; 
He’s a Jew, he’s a ring, 

He’s a many pretty thing. 

He’s a hammer with nine nails, 

He’s a cat with nine tails. 

Whip jack, spur Tom, 

Blow the bellows for Old Man John. 


We’re all in the dumps, 

For diamonds are trumps; 

The kittens are gone to St. Paul’s; 
The babies are bit, 

The moon’s in a fit, 

And the houses are built without walls. 


I had a little horse, his name was Dapple Gray; 

His legs were made of cornstalks, his body made of hay. 
I saddled him and bridled him and rode him off to town; 
Up came a puff of wind, and blew him up and down. 

The saddle flew off, and I let go, — 

Now didn’t my horse make a pretty little show? 


Georgy-porgy, pudding and pie, ' 
Kissed the girls and made them cry. 
When the boys came out to play, 
Georgy-porgy ran away. 


April fool, go to school, 

Sit on a two-legged stool. 

Too wise you are, too wise you be; 
You are not too wise for me. 


Johnny’s mad, and I am glad, 

And I know what will please him: 
A bottle of wine to make him shine, 
And Mary Jones to squeeze him. 


6 


Tyi^es of Childrens Literature 

Cry, baby, cry, 

Stick your finger in your eye 
And tell your mother ’twasn’t I. 


Tell-tale-tit, 

Your tongue shall be slit, 

And all the dogs about the town 
Shall have a little bit. 


Peter Piper picked a peck of pickled peppers, 

A peck of pickled peppers Peter Piper picked. 

If Peter Piper picked a peck of pickled peppers, 
Where is the peck of peppers Peter Piper picked? 


Swan swam over the sea, — 
Swim, swan, swim; 

Swan swam back again, 
Well swum, swan. 


Ickity, pickity, ally gadaw, 
Dicks, do, ally gamaw, 
Okus, pokus, pelly gaw, 
Franz. 


One-ery, two-ery, three-ery, thum, 
Backsley, Billy, Nicholas, Bum, 
One-a-tirry, Dick and Sirry, 

Pot ban, riddle man, 

Link, Pink, Sink. 


Tnty, minty, dibbity fig, 
Delia, Dolia, dominig, 
Otcha, potcha, dominotcha, 
Ella Bella boo, 

Out goes you. 


Nursery Jingles y 

Intery, mintery, cutery corn, 

Apple seed and apple thorn, 

Wire, brier, limber lock, 

Three geese in a flock; 

Along came Tod, 

With his long rod, 

And scared them all to Migly-wod. 

One flew east, one flew west, 

One flew over the cuckoo’s nest. — 

Make your way home, Jack. 


Trit-trot, trit-trot, 

To buy a penny cake; 
Home again, home again, 
I met a black-snake. 
Pick up a stone 
And breaky backy-bone 
Trit-trot, trit-trot 
All the way home. 


Hippity-hop to the barber shop, 
To buy a stick of candy; 

One for you, and one for me, 
And one for Brother Andy. 


This little mouse got caught in a trap, 

And this little mouse she heard it snap, 

This little mouse did loudly squeak out, 

And this little mouse did run all about, 

This little mouse said, “ Do not bewail 

And let us take hold and pull him out by the tail .” 1 


Here we go up, up, up, 

Here we go down, down, down-y; 

Here we go up, and here we go down, 
And here we go round, round, round-y. 

1 Recited on the baby’s fingers or toes. 


8 


Types of Childrens Literature 

As I went through the garden gap, 

Whom should I meet but Dick Red-cap, — 
A stick in his hand, 

A stone in his throat, — 

If you’ll tell me this riddle, 

I’ll give you a gold fiddle. 

(A cherry) 


One day I went to my whirly-whicker-whackei, (Fodder field) 
I met bow-backer, (A hog) 

I called Tom-tacker (A dog) 

To drive bow-backer 

Out of my whirly-whicker-whacker. 


One day I went to Body-tot, 

I met three ladies in a trot, 

With green heads and yellow toes, — 

If you don’t tell me this riddle I’ll burn your nose. 

(Hens) 


Big at the bottom and little at the top, 

A thing in the middle goes flippety-flop. 

(A churn) 


Humpty Dumpty sat on the wall, 

Humpty Dumpty had a great fall; 

All the king’s horses and all the king’s men 
Couldn’t put Humpty Dumpty together again. 

(An egg) 


I have a little sister, she’s called Peep-p-.ep; 
She wades the waters deep, deep, deep; 

She climbs the mountains high, high, high, — 
Poor little thing, she has but one eye. 

(A star) 


There was a man who had no eyes, 
He went abroad to view the skies ; 


9 


Nursery Jingles 

He saw a tree with apples on it, 

He took no apples off, yet left no apples on it. 

(The man had one eye, and the tree had two apples on it.) 


(The following catch depends upon the second child repeating the exact 
words of the first, except that he changes “lock” to “key.”) 

1. I am a gold lock. 

2. I am a gold key. 

1. I am a silver lock. 

2. I am a silver key. 

1. I am a brass lock. 

2. I am a brass key. 

1. I am a monk lock. 

2. I am a monk-key. 


As I was going to St. Ives, 

I met a man with seven wives; 

Each wife had seven sacks, 

Each sack had seven cats, 

Each sack had seven kits, — 

Kits, cats, sacks, and wives, 

How many were going to St. Ives? 


Star of light, so bright, so bright, 
’Tis the first star I’ve seen tonight; 
I wish I may, I wish I might 
Have the wish I wish tonight. 


Marble, marble, roll away, 

Go find your brother; 

Marble, marble, come back home, 
Bring me another. 1 


Honest and true, black and blue, 

You may take your knife and cut me in two. 

(An oath) 

1 If you have lost a marble, take another marble and roll it toward the 
place you lost the first one, repeating this charm. You will find the lost one 
near the second marble. 


10 


Types of Childrens Literature 

Come, butter, come, 

Come, butter, come; 

Johnny stands at the gate, 
Waiting for a butter cake, — 
Come, butter, come. 


Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John 
Guard the bed that I lie on ; 

One to watch and one to pray, 
And two to bear my soul away. 


Mole on the neck, 
Money by the peck. 


Rain before seven, 
Quit before eleven. 


Evening red and morning gray 
Sets the traveler on his way; 
Evening gray and morning red, 
Brings down rain upon his head. 


When the fog goes up the hill, 

Then the rain comes down by the mill. 


When the bees all homeward fly, 
Flowers will not long be dry. 


1 , 2 , 3 , 4 , 

Mary at the cottage door; 

5 , 6 , 7 , 8 , 

Eating cherries off a plate. 


Naught, one, 
Work is done; 
Two, three, 
Jubilee; 


Nursery Jingles 

Four, five, 

Ducks are alive; 

Six, seven, 

Stars shine up in heaven ; 
Eight, nine, 

Queen, Queen Caroline, 

Wash your face in turpentine, 
Monkey-shine, monkey-shine, 
Queen, Queen Caroline. 


In fourteen hundred and ninety-two 
Columbus sailed the ocean blue. 


Thirty days hath September, 

April, June, and November; 

All the rest have thirty-one, 
Excepting February alone, 

Which has twenty-eight in line, 

Till leap-year gives it twenty-nine. 


Birds of a feather 
Flock together. 


He that would thrive 
Must rise at five; 

He that has thriven 
May rise at seven. 


Little strokes 
Fell great oaks. 


See a pin and pick it up, 

All the day you’ll have good luck. 
See a pin and let it lay, 

You’ll have bad luck all the day. 


11 


12 


Types of Childrens Literature 

For every evil under the sun, 

There is a remedy, or there is none; 
If there be one, try and find it, 

If there be none, never mind it. 


Pease porridge hot, 

Pease porridge cold, 
Pease porridge in the pot, 
Nine days old. 

Some like it hot, 

Some like it cold, 

Some like it in the pot, 
Nine days old. 


Hot-cross buns, 
Hot-cross buns, 

One a penny, two a penny, 
Hot-cross buns. 

Hot-cross buns, 
Hot-cross buns, 

If you have no daughters, 
Give them to your sons. 


SOME CHILDREN’S POETS 


©millant TBlafee 

PIPING DOWN THE VALLEYS WILD 

Piping down the valleys wild, 

Piping songs of pleasant glee, 

On a cloud I saw a child, 

And he laughing said to me : — 

“ Pipe a song about a lamb : ” 

So I piped with merry cheer. 

“ Piper, pipe that song again : ” 

So I piped: he wept to hear. 

“ Drop thy pipe, thy happy pipe, 

Sing thy songs of happy cheer! ” 
So I sang the same again, 

While he wept with joy to hear. 

“ Piper, sit thee down and write 
In a book, that all may read — ” 

So he vanished from my sight; 

And I plucked a hollow reed, 

And I made a rural pen, 

And I stained the water clear, 

And I wrote my happy songs 
Every child may joy to hear. 

THE LAMB 

Little lamb, who made thee? 

Dost thou know who made thee, 
Gave thee life and bade thee feed 
By the stream and o’er the mead; 

Gave thee clothing of delight, 

Softest clothing, woolly, bright, 

Gave thee such a tender voice, 

Making all the vales rejoice? 

13 


14 


Types of Children s Literature 

Little lamb, who made thee? 

Dost thou know who made thee? 

Little lamb, I’ll tell thee; 

Little lamb, I’ll tell thee. 

He is called by thy name, 

For He calls himself a Lamb. 

He is meek, and He is mild; 

He became a little child. 

I a child, and thou a lamb, 

We are called by His name. 

Little lamb, God bless thee! 

Little lamb, God bless thee ! 

LAUGHING SONG 

When the green wood laughs with the voice of joy, 
And the dimpling stream runs laughing by; 

When the air does laugh with our merry wit, 

And the green hill laughs with the noise of it; 

When the meadows laugh with lively green, 

And the grasshopper laughs in the merry scene; 

When Mary, and Susan, and Emily 

With their sweet round mouths sing, “ Ha ha he! ” 

When the painted birds laugh in the shade, 

When our table with cherries and nuts is spread; 
Come live, and be merry, and join with me, 

To sing the sweet chorus of “Ha ha he! ” 


Some Children's Poets 

Cfmsttna I&ossetti 


15 


THE WIND 

Who has seen the wind? 

Neither I nor you: 

But when the leaves hang trembling 
The wind is passing through. 

Who has seen the wind? 

Neither you nor I : 

But when the trees bow down their heads 
The wind is passing by. 

THE CITY MOUSE AND THE GARDEN MOUSE 

The city mouse lives in a house ; — 

The garden mouse lives in a bower, 

He’s friendly with the frogs and toads, 
And sees the pretty plants in flower. 

The city mouse eats bread and cheese ; — 
The garden mouse eats what he can ; 

We will not grudge him seeds and stalks, 
Poor little timid furry man. 

LULLABY 
Lullaby, oh, lullaby! 

Flowers are closed and lambs are sleeping; 

Lullaby, oh, lullaby! 

Stars are up, the moon is peeping; 

Lullaby, oh, lullaby! 

While the birds are silence keeping, 

Lullaby, oh, lullaby! 

Sleep, my baby, fall a-sleeping, 

Lullaby, oh, lullaby! 


16 


Types of Children s Literature 

A FLINT 

An emerald is as green as grass; 

A ruby red as blood ; 

A sapphire shines as blue as heaven 
A flint lies in the mud. 

A diamond is a brilliant stone, 

To catch the world’s desire; 

An opal holds a fiery spark; 

But a flint holds fire. 

THE SISTERS 

Sing me a song — 

What shall I sing? — 

Three merry sisters 
Dancing in a ring, 

Light and fleet upon their feet 
As birds upon the wing. 

Tell me a tale — 

What shall I tell? — 

Two mournful sisters, 

And a tolling knell, 
oiling ding and tolling dong, 

Ding dong bell. 


Some Children's Poets 

Robert Louts! ©tebenson 

THE WIND 

I saw you toss the kites on high 
And blow the birds about the sky; 

And all around I heard you pass, 

Like ladies’ skirts across the grass — 

0 wind, a-blowing all day long, 

0 wind, that sings so loud a song ! 

I saw the different things you did, 

But always you yourself you hid. 

I felt you push, I heard you call, 

I could not see yourself at all — . 

O wind, a-blowing all day long, 

0 wind, that sings so loud a song! 

0 you that are so strong and cold! 

0 blower, are you young or old? 

Are you a beast of field and tree, 

Or just a stronger child than me? 

O wind, a-blowing all day long, 

0 wind, that sings so loud a song! 

WINDY NIGHTS 

Whenever the moon and stars are set, 
Whenever the wind is high, 

All night long in the dark and wet, 

A man goes riding by. 

Late in the night when the fires are out, 
Why does he gallop and gallop about? 

Whenever the trees are crying aloud, 
And ships are tossed at sea, 

By, on the highway, low and loud, 

By at the gallop goes he; 

By at the gallop he goes, and then 
By he comes back at the gallop again. 


17 


18 


Types of Children s Literature 

THE WHOLE DUTY OF CHILDREN 

A child should always say what’s true 
And speak when he is spoken to, 

And behave mannerly at table; 

At least as far as he is able. 


MY BED IS A BOAT 

My bed is like a little boat; 

Nurse helps me in when I embark; 

She girds me in my sailor’s coat 
And starts me in the dark. 

At night, I go on board and say 

Good night to all my friends on shore; 
I shut my eyes and sail away, 

And see and hear no more. 

And sometimes things to bed I take, 

As prudent sailors have to do; 
Perhaps a slice of wedding cake, 
Perhaps a toy or two. 

All night across the dark we steer; 

But when the day returns at last, 

Safe in my room, beside the pier, 

I find my vessel fast. 

THE LAND OF COUNTERPANE 

When I was sick and lay abed, 

I had two pillows at my head, 

And all my toys beside me lay 
To keep me happy all the day. 

And sometimes for an hour or so 
I watched my leaden soldiers go, 

With different uniforms and drills, 
Among the bedclothes, through the hills; 


Some Children's Poets 


19 


And sometimes sent my ships in fleets 
All up and down among the sheets; 

Or brought my trees and houses out, 
And planted cities all about. 

I was the giant great and still 
That sits upon the pillow hill, 

And sees before him, dale and plain, 
The pleasant land of counterpane. 

THE LAND OF STORYBOOKS 

At evening when the lamp is lit, 
Around the fire my parents sit; 

They sit at home and talk and sing, 
And do not play at anything. 

Now, with my little gun, I crawl 
All in the dark along the wall, 

And follow round the forest track 
Away behind the sofa back. 

There, in the night, where none can spy, 
All in my hunter’s camp I lie, 

And play at books that I have read 
Till it is time to go to bed. 

These are the hills, these are the woods, 
These are my starry solitudes; 

And there the river by whose brink 
The roaring lions come to drink. 

I see the others far away 
As if in firelit camp they lay, 

And I, like to an Indian scout, 

Around their party prowled about. 

So, when my nurse comes in for me, 
Home I return across the sea, 

And go to bed with backward looks 
At my dear Land of Storybooks. 


20 


Types of Children s Literature 

JLucp Harcom 

IF I WERE A SUNBEAM 

“ If I were a sunbeam, 

I know what I’d do; 

I would seek white lilies, 

Rainy woodlands through. 

I would steal among them, 

Softest light I’d shed, 

Until every lily 

Raised its drooping head. 

“ If I were a sunbeam, 

I know where I’d go; 

Into lowliest hovels, 

Dark with want and woe : 

Till sad hearts looked upward, 

I would shine and shine; 

Then they’d think of heaven, 

Their sweet home and mine.” 

Art thou not a sunbeam, 

Child, whose life is glad 

With an inner radiance 
Sunshine never had? 

0, as God hath blessed thee, 

Scatter rays divine! 

For there is no sunbeam 
But must die or shine. 

THE RIVULET 

Run, little rivulet, run! 

Summer is fairly begun. 

Bear to the meadow the hymn of the pines, 

And the echo that rings where the waterfall shines; 

Run, little rivulet, run! 

Run, little rivulet, run! 

Sing to the fields of the sun 
That wavers in emerald, shimmers in gold,' 

Where you glide from your rocky ravine, crystal cold 

Run, little rivulet, run! 


Some Children's Poets 


21 


Run, little rivulet, run! 

Sing of the flowers, every one, — 

Of the delicate harebell and violet blue; 

Of the red mountain rosebud, all dripping with dew; 

Run, little rivulet, run! 

Run, little rivulet, run! 

Carry the perfume you won 
From the lily, that woke when the morning was gray, 

To the white waiting moonbeam adrift on the bay; 

Run, little rivulet, run! 

Run, little rivulet, run! 

Stay not till summer is done! 

Carry the city the mountain birds’ glee; 

Carry the joy of the hills to the sea; 

Run, little rivulet, run! 

THE BROWN THRUSH 

There’s a merry brown thrush sitting up in the tree. 

He’s singing to me! He’s singing to me! 

And what does he say, little girl, little boy? 

“.Oh, the world’s running over with joy! 

Don’t you hear? Don’t you see? 

Hush! Look! In my tree 
I’m as happy as happy can be! ” 

And the brown thrush keeps singing, “ A nest do you see, 
And five eggs, hid by me in the juniper tree? 

Don’t meddle! Don’t touch! little girl, little boy, 

Or the world will lose some of its joy! 

Now I’m glad! now I’m free! 

And I always shall be, 

If you never bring sorrow to me.” 

So the merry brown thrush sings away in the tree, 

To you and to me, to you and to me; 

And he sings all the day, little girl, little boy, 

“ Oh, the world’s running over with joy! 

But long it won’t be, 

Don’t you know? don’t you see? 

Unless we are as good as can be! 


Types of Children’s Literature 

ann anD 3[ane caglot 

MEDDLESOME MATTY 

One ugly trick has often spoiled 
The sweetest and the best: 

Matilda, though a pleasant child, 

One grievous fault possessed, 

Which, like a cloud before the skies, 

Hid all her better qualities. 

Sometimes she’d lift the teapot lid 
To peep at what was in it; 

Or tilt the kettle, if you did 
But turn your back a minute. 

In vain you told her not to touch, 

Her trick of meddling grew so much. 

Her grandmamma went out one day 
And by mistake she laid 
Her spectacles and snuffbox gay 
Too near the little maid. 

“Ah! well,” thought she, “ I’ll try them 
As soon as grandmamma is gone.” 

Forthwith she placed upon her nose 
The glasses large and wide; 

And looking round, as I suppose, 

The snuffbox too she spied: 

“ Oh! what a pretty box is that; 

I’ll open it,” said little Matt. 

“ I know that grandmamma would say, 

‘ Don’t meddle with it, dear ’; 

But then, she’s far enough away, 

And no one else is near. 

Besides, what can there be amiss 
In opening such a box as this? ” 

So thumb and finger went to work 
To move the stubborn lid, 


Some Children's Poets 


23 


And presently a mighty jerk 
The mighty mischief did; 

For all at once, ah! woeful case, 

The snuff came puffing in her face. 

Poor eyes and nose and mouth, beside, 
A dismal sight presented; 

In vain, as bitterly she cried, 

Her folly she repented; 

In vain she ran about for ease, 

She could do nothing now but sneeze. 

She dashed the spectacles away 
To wipe her tingling eyes, 

And as in twenty bits they lay, 

Her grandmamma she spies. 

“ Heyday! and what’s the matter now? ” 
Says grandmamma with lifted brow. 

Matilda, smarting with the pain, 

And tingling still, and sore, 

Made many a promise to refrain 
From meddling evermore. 

And ’tis a fact, as I have heard, 

She ever since has kept her word. 

THE VIOLET 

Down in a green and shady bed 
A modest violet grew, 

Its stalk was bent, it hung its head, 

As if to hide from view. 

And yet it was a lovely flower, 

Its color bright and fair; 

It might have graced a rosy bower 
Instead of hiding there. 

Yet there it was content to bloom, 

In modest tints arrayed; 

And there diffused a sweet perfume 
Within the silent shade. — 


24 


Types of Childrens Literature 

Then let me to the valley go 
This pretty flower to see, 

That I may also learn to grow 
In sweet humility. 

THE STAR 

Twinkle, twinkle, little star, 

How I wonder what you are! 

Up above the world so high, 

Like a diamond in the sky. 

When the blazing sun is gone, 

When he nothing shines upon, 

Then you show your little light, 

Twinkle, twinkle, all the night. 

Then the traveler in the dark, 

Thanks you for your tiny spark! 

He could not see which way to go, 

If you did not twinkle so. 

In the dark blue sky you keep, 

And often through my curtains peep, 

For you never shut your eye 
Till the sun is in the sky. 

As your bright and tiny spark 
Lights the traveler in the dark, 

Though I know not what you are, 

Twinkle, twinkle, little star. 

THE WAY TO BE HAPPY 

How pleasant it is at the end of the day, 

No follies to have to repent, 

But reflect on the past and be able to say, 

My time has been properly spent! 

When I’ve done all my business with patience and care 
And been good, and obliging, and kind, 


Some Children's Poets 


25 


I lie on my pillow and sleep away there, 
With a happy and peaceable mind. 

Instead of all this, if it must be confest, 

That I careless and idle have been, 

I lie down as usual, and go to my rest, 

But feel discontented within. 

Then as I dislike all the trouble I’ve had, 
In future I’ll try to prevent it, 

For I never am naughty without being sad, 
Or good — without being contented. 


26 


Types of Childrens Literature 

30aac M3att0 

AGAINST IDLENESS AND MISCHIEF 


How doth the little busy bee 
Improve each shining hour, 

And gather honey all the day 
From every opening flower! 

How skillfully she builds her cell! 
How neat she spreads her wax! 

And labors hard to store it well 
With the sweet food she makes. 

In works of labor or of skill, 

I would be busy too; 

For Satan finds some mischief still 
For idle hands to do. 

In books, or work, or healthful play, 
Let my first years be past, 

That I may give for every day 
Some good account at last. 

A MORNING SONG 

My God, who makes the sun to know 
His proper hour to rise, 

And to give light to all below, 

Doth send him round the skies. 

When from the chambers of the east 
His morning race begins, 

He never tires, nor stops to rest, 

But round the world he shines. 

So, like the sun, would I fulfill 
The business of the day: 

Begin my work betimes, and still 
March on my heavenly way. 


Some Children's Poets 


27 


Give me, 0 Lord, thy early grace, 

Nor let my soul complain 

That the young morning of my days 
Has all been spent in vain. 

A CRADLE HYMN 

Hush, my dear, lie still and slumber ! 
Holy angels guard thy bed! 

Heavenly blessings without number 
Gently falling on thy head. 

Sleep, my babe; thy food and raiment, 
House and home, thy friends provide; 

All without thy care or payment, 

All thy wants are well supplied. 

How much better thou’rt attended 
Than the Son of God could be, 

When from heaven He descended, 

And became a child like thee ! 

Soft and easy is thy cradle; 

Coarse and hard thy Saviour lay, 

When His birthplace was a stable, 

And His softest bed was hay. 

Lo, He slumbers in His manger, 

Where the horned oxen fed; 

Peace, my darling, here’s no danger, 
Here’s no ox a-near thy bed. 

Mayst thou live to know and fear Him, 
Trust and love Him all thy days; 

Then go dwell forever near Him, 

See His face, and sing His praise! 


28 


Types of Children s Literature 

iletois Carroll 

JABBERWOCKY 


’Twas brillig, and the slithy toves 
Did gyre and gimbel in the wabe: 

All mimsy were the borogoves, 

And the mome raths outgrabe. 

“Beware the Jabberwock, my son! 

The jaws that bite, the claws that catch! 

Beware the Jubjub bird, and shun 
The frumious Bandersnatch ! ” 

He took his vorpal sword in hand : 

Long time the manxome foe he sought — 

So rested he by the Tumtum tree, 

And stood awhile in thought. 

And as in uffish thought he stood, 

The Jabberwock, with eyes of flame, 

Came whiffling through the tulgey wood, 

And burbled as it came! 

One, two ! One, two ! And through and through 
The vorpal blade went snicker-snack! 

He left it dead, and with its head 
He went galumphing back. 

“ And hast thou slain the Jabberwock? 

Come to my arms, my beamish boy! 

0 frabjous day! Gallooh! Callay! ” 

He chortled in his joy. 

’Twas brillig, and the slithy toves 
Did gyre and gimbel in the wabe: 

All mimsy were the borogoves, 

And the mome raths outgrabe. 


29 


Some Children's Poets 

YOU ARE OLD, FATHER WILLIAM 

You are old, father William,” the young man said 
44 And your hair has become very white; 

And yet you incessantly stand on your head — 

Do you think, at your age, it is right? ” 

“ In my youth,” father William replied to his son, 

44 1 feared it might injure the brain; 

But now that I’m perfectly sure I have none, 

Why, I do it again and again.” 

You are old,” said the youth, 44 as I mentioned before, 

And have grown most uncommonly fat; 

Yet you turned a back-somersault in at the door — 

Pray, what is the reason of that? ” 

44 In my youth,” said the sage, as he shook his gray locks, 

44 1 kept all my limbs very supple 
By the use of this ointment — one shilling the box — 

Allow me to sell you a couple? ” 

* 4 You are old,” said the youth, 44 and your jaws are too weak 
For anything tougher than suet; 

Yet you finished the goose, with the bones and the beak — 
Pray, how did you manage to do it? ” 

44 In my youth,” said his father, 44 1 took to the law, 

And argued each case with my wife; 

And the muscular strength which it gave to my jaw 
Lias lasted the rest of my life.” 

44 You are old,” said the youth; 44 one would hardly suppose 
That your eye was as steady as ever; 

Yet you balanced an eel on the end of your nose — 

What made you so awfully clever? ” 

44 1 have answered three questions, and that is enough,” 

Said his father;’ 44 don’t give yourself airs! 

Do you think I can listen all day to such stuff? 

Be off, or I’ll kick you downstairs! ” 


Types of Childrens Literature 

THE WALRUS AND THE CARPENTER 

The sun was shining on the sea, 

Shining with all his might; 

He did his very best to make 

The billows smooth and bright — 

And this was odd, because it was 
The middle of the night. 

The moon was shining sulkily, 

Because she thought the sun 

Had got no business to be there 
After the day was done — 

44 It’s very rude of him,” she said, 

44 To come and spoil the fun! ” 

The sea was wet as wet could be, 

The sands were dry as dry. 

You could not see a cloud, because 
No cloud was in the sky; 

No birds were flying overhead — 

There were no birds to fly. 

The Walrus and the Carpenter 
Were walking close at hand; 

They wept like anything to see 
Such quantities of sand — 

44 If this were only cleared away,” 

They said, 44 it would be grand ! ” 

44 If seven maids with seven mops 
Swept it for half a year, 

Do you suppose,” the Walrus said, 

44 That they could get it clear ? ” 

44 1 doubt it,” said the Carpenter, 

And shed a bitter tear. 

44 0 Oysters, come and walk with us ! ” 
The Walrus did beseech. 

44 A pleasant walk, a pleasant talk, 

Along the briny beach; 

We cannot do with more than four, 

To give a hand to each.” 


Some Children's Poets 


31 


The eldest Oyster looked at him, 

But never a word he said ; 

The eldest Oyster winked his eye, 

And shook his heavy head — 

Meaning to say he did not choose 
To leave the Oyster bed. 

But four young Oysters hurried up, 

All eager for the treat; 

Their coats were brushed, their faces washed, 
Their shoes were clean and neat — 

And this was odd, because, you know, 

They hadn’t any feet. 

Four other Oysters followed them, 

And yet another four; 

And thick and fast they came at last, 

And more, and more, and more — 

All hopping through the frothy waves, 

And scrambling to the shore. 

The Walrus and the Carpenter 
Walked on a mile or so, 

And then they rested on a rock 
Conveniently low — 

And all the little Oysters stood 
And waited in a row. 

“ The time has come,” the Walrus said, 

“To talk of many things: 

Of shoes — and ships — and sealing wax — 
Of cabbages — and kings — 

And why the sea is boiling hot — 

And whether pigs have wings.” 

“ But wait a bit,” the Oysters cried, 

“Before we have our chat; 

For some of us are out of breath, 

And all of us are fat! ” 

“ No hurry ! ” said the Carpenter. 

They thanked him much for that. 


32 


Types of Childrens Literature 

“ A loaf of bread,” the Walrus said, 

“ Is what we chiefly need ; 

Pepper and vinegar besides 
Are very good indeed — 

Now if you’re ready, Oysters dear, 

We can begin to feed.” 

“ But not on us ! ” the Oysters cried, 
Turning a little blue. 

“ After such kindness, that would be 
A dismal thing to do! ” 

“ The night is fine ! ” the Walrus said. 

“ Do you admire the view ? 

“ It was so kind of you to come ! 

And you are very nice! ” 

The Carpenter said nothing but, 

“ Cut us another slice. 

I wish you were not quite so deaf — 

I’ve had to ask you twice! ” 

“ It seems a shame,” the Walrus said, 
“To play them such a trick, 

After we’ve brought them out so far, 
And made them trot so quick ! ” 

The Carpenter said nothing but, 

“ The butter’s spread too thick ! ” 

“ I weep for you,” the Walrus said; 

“ I deeply sympathize.” 

With sobs and tears he sorted out 
Those of the largest size, 

Holding his pocket handkerchief 
Before his streaming eyes. 

“ 0 Oysters,” said the Carpenter, 

“ You’ve had a pleasant run! 

Shall we be trotting home again? ” 

But answer came, there none — 

And this was scarcely odd, because 
They’d eaten every one. 


Some Children's Poets 33 

(EOtoarO iitai 

There was an Old Man of the West, 

Who never could get any rest; 

So they set him to spin on his nose and his chin, 

Which cured that Old Man of the West. 


There was an Old Man with a beard, 

Who said, “ It is just as I feared! — 

Two Owls and a Hen, four Larks and a Wren, 

Have all built their nests in my beard! ” 

There was an Old Person of Dean, 

Who dined on one pea and one bean; 

For he said, “ More than that would make me too fat,” 
That cautious Old Person of Dean. 


There was a Young Lady whose chin 
Resembled the point of a pin; 

So she had it made sharp, and purchased a harp, 
And played several tunes with her chin. 


There is a Young Lady whose nose 
Continually prospers and grows; 

When it grew out of sight, she exclaimed in a fright, 
“ Oh! Farewell to the end of my nose! ” 

THE OWL AND THE PUSSY-CAT 

The Owl and the Pussy-Cat went to sea 
In a beautiful pea-green boat: 

They took some honey, and plenty of money 
Wrapped up in a five-pound note. 

The Owl looked up to the stars above, 

And sang to a small guitar, 

“ 0 lovely Pussy, 0 Pussy, my love, 

What a beautiful Pussy you are, 

You are, 

You are! 

What a beautiful Pussy you are! ” 


34 


Types of Childrens Literature 

Pussy said to the Owl, “ You elegant fowl, 

How charmingly sweet you sing! 

Oh! let us be married; too long we have tarried: 

But what shall we do for a ring? ” 

They sailed away, for a year and a day, 

To the land where the bong-tree grows; 

And there in a wood a Piggy -wig stood, 

With a ring at the end of his nose, 

His nose, 

His nose, 

With a ring at the end of his nose. 

“ Dear Pig, are you willing to sell for one shilling 
Your ring? ” Said the Piggy, “ I will.” 

So they took it away, and were married next day 
By the turkey who lives on the hill. 

They dined on mince and slices of quince, 

Which they ate with a runcible spoon; 

And hand in hand, on the edge of the sand, 

They danced by the light of the moon, 

The moon. 

The moon, 

They danced by the light of the moon. 

THE JUMBLIES 

They went to sea in a sieve, they did ; 

In a sieve they went to sea: 

In spite of all their friends could say, 

On a winter’s morn, on a stormy day, 

In a sieve they went to sea. 

And when the sieve turned round and round, 

And every one cried, “ You’ll all be drowned! ” 

They called aloud, Our sieve ain’t big; 

But we don’t care a button, we don’t care a fig: 

In a sieve we’ll go to sea! ” 

Far and few, far and few, 

Are the lands where the Jumblies live: 

Their heads are green, and their hands are blue 
And they went to sea in a sieve. 


Some Children's Poets 


35 


They sailed away in a sieve, they did, 

In a sieve they sailed so fast, 

With only a beautiful pea-green veil 
Tied with a ribbon, by way of a sail, 

To a small tobacco-pipe mast. 

And every one said who saw them go, 

“Oh! won’t they be soon upset, you know? 

For the sky is dark, and the voyage is long; 

And happen what may, it’s extremely wrong 
In a sieve to sail so fast.” 

Far and few, far and few, 

Are the lands where the Jumblies live: 

Their heads are green, and their hands are blue ; • 
And they went to sea in a sieve. 

The water it soon came in, it did; 

The water it soon came in: 

So, to keep them dry, they wrapped their feet 
In a pinky paper all folded neat; 

And they fastened it down with a pin. 

And they passed the night in a crockery-jar; 

And each of them said, “ How wise we are! 

Though the night be dark, and the voyage be long, 

Yet we never can think we were rash or wrong, 

While round in our sieve we spin.” 

Far and few, far and few, 

Are the lands where the Jumblies live: 

Their heads are green, and their hands are blue; 
And they went to sea in a sieve. 

And all night long they sailed away; 

And when the sun went down, 

They whistled and warbled a moony song 
To the echoing sound of a coppery gong, 

In the shade of the mountains brown. 

“ 0 Timballo! How happy we are 
When we live in a sieve and a crockery jar! 

And all night long, in the moonlight pale, 

We sail away with a pea-green sail 

In the shade of the mountains brown.” 


36 


Types of Childrens Literature 

Far and few, far and few, 

Are the lands where the Jumblies live: 

Their' heads are green, and their hands are blue; 
And they went to sea in a sieve. 

They sailed to the Western Sea, they did, — 

To a land all covered with trees: 

And they bought an owl, and a useful cart, 

And a pound of rice, and a cranberry tart, 

And a hive of silvery bees; 

And they bought a pig, and some green jackdaws, 

And a lovely monkey with lollipop paws, 

And forty bottles of ring-bo-ree, 

And no end of Stilton cheese. 

Far and few, far and few, 

Are the lands where the Jumblies live: 

Their heads are green, and their hands are blue; 
And they went to sea in a sieve. 

And in twenty years they all came back, — 

In twenty years or more; 

And every one said, “ How tall they've grown ! 

For they’ve been to the Lakes, and the Torrible Zone, 
And the hills of the Chankly Bore.” 

And they drank their health, and gave them a feast 
Of dumplings made of beautiful yeast; 

And every one said, “ If we only live, 

We, too, will go to sea in a sieve, 

To the hills of the Chankly Bore.” 

Far and few, far and few, 

Are the lands where the Jumblies live: 

Their heads are green, and their hands are blue; 
And they went to sea in a sieve. 


BALLADS 

Popular 

BONNY BARBARA ALLAN 

It was in and about the Martinmas time, 
When the green leaves were a-falling, 
That Sir John Graeme, in the West Country, 
Fell in love with Barbara Allan. 

He sent his man down through the town, 

To the place where she was dwelling: 

“ 0 haste and come to my master dear, 

Gin ye be Barbara Allan.” 

0 hooly, hooly rose she up, 

To the place where he was lying, 

And when she drew the curtain by: 

“ Young man, I think you’re dying.” 

“ 0 it’s I’m sick, and very, very sick, 

And ’tis a’ for Barbara Allan ”; 

“ 0 the better for me ye’s never be, 

Tho your heart’s blood were a-spilling. 

“ Do you remember the other day, 

When we were at the tavern drinking, 

You drank a health to the ladies all, 

And you slighted Barbara Allan? ” 

“ Yes, I remember the other day, 

When we were at the tavern drinking, 

1 drank a health to the ladies all, 

And three. to Barbara Allan.” 

“ Do you remember the other night, 

When we were at the ballroom dancing. 
You gave your hand to the ladies all, 

And slighted Barbara Allan? ” 

37 


38 


Types of Childrens Literature 

“ Yes, I remember the other night, 

When we were at the ballroom dancing, 
I gave my hand to the ladies all, 

And my heart to Barbara Allan.” 

He turned his face unto the wall, 

And death was with him dealing: 

“ Adieu, adieu, my dear friends all, 

And he kind to Barbara Allan.” 

And slowly, slowly raise she up, 

And slowly, slowly left him, 

And, sighing, said she could not stay, 

Since death of life had reft him. 

She had not gane a mile but twa, 

When she heard the dead-bell ringing, 
And every jow that the dead-bell geid, 

It cry’d, “ Woe to Barbara Allan.” 

“ 0 mother, mother, make my bed ! 

O make it saft and narrow! 

Since my love died for me today, 

I’ll die for him tomorrow.” 

SIR PATRICK SPENCE 

The king sits in Dunferling toune, 
Drinking the blude-reid wine; 

“ 0 whar will I get a guid sailor, 

To sail this schip of mine? ” 

Up and spak an eldern knicht, 

Sat at the king’s richt kne: 

“ Sir Patrick Spence is the best sailor, 
That sails upon the se.” 

The king has written a braid letter, 

And signd it wi’ his hand; 

And sent it to Sir Patrick Spence, 

Was walking on the sand. 


Ballads 


39 


The first line that Sir Patrick red, 

A loud lauch lauched he; 

The next line that Sir Patrick red, 

The teir blinded his ee. 

“ 0 wha is this has don this deid, 

This ill deid don to me, 

To send me out this time o’ the yeir, 

To sail upon the se! 

“ Mak haste, mak haste, my mirry men all, 
Our guid schip sails the morne.” 

“ 0 say na sae, my master deir, 

For I feir a deadlie storme. 

“ Late late yestreen I saw the new moone, 
Wi’ the auld moone in his arme, 

And I feir, I feir, my deir master, 

That we will com to harme.” 

0 our Scots nobles wer richt laith 
To weet their cork-heild schoone; 

Bot lang owre a’ the play wer playd, 

Thair hats they swam aboone. 

0 lang, lang may their ladies sit, 

Wi’ thair fans into their hand, 

Or eir they se Sir Patrick Spence 
Cum sailing to the land. 

0 lang, lang may the ladies stand, 

Wi’ thair gold kerns in their hair, 

Waiting for thair ain deir lords, 

For they’ll se thame na mair. 

Half owre, half owre to Aberdour, 

It’s fiftie fadom deip, 

And thair lies guid Sir Patrick Spence, 

Wi’ the Scots lords at his feit. 


40 


Types of Childrens Literature 

ROBIN HOOD AND ALLIN A DALE 


Come listen to me, you gallants so free, 

All you that loves mirth for to hear, 

And I will tell you of a bold outlaw, 

That lived in Nottinghamshire. 

As Robin Hood in the forest stood, 

All under the greenwood tree, 

There was he ware of a brave young man, 
As fine as fine might be. 

The youngster was clothed in scarlet red, 

In scarlet fine and gay; 

And he did frisk it over the plain, 

And chanted a roundelay. 

As Robin Hood next morning stood, 
Amongst the leaves so gay, 

There did he espy the same young man 
Come drooping along the way. 

The scarlet he wore the day before, 

It was clean cast away; 

And at every step he fetcht a sigh, 

“ Alack and a well a day! ” 

Then stepped forth brave Little John, 

And Nick the miller’s son. 

Which made the young man bend his bow, 
When as he see them come. 

“ Stand off, stand off,” the young man said, 
“ What is your will with me? ” 

“ You must come before our master straight, 
Under yon greenwood tree.” 

And when he came bold Robin before, 
Robin askt him courteously, 

“ 0 hast thou any money to spare 
For my merry men and me? ” 


Ballads 


41 


“ I have no money,” the young man said, 

“ But five shillings and a ring; 

And that I have kept this seven long years, 

To have it at my wedding. 

“ Yesterday I should have married a maid, 

But she is now from me tane, 

And chosen to be an old knight’s delight, 

Whereby my poor heart is slain.” 

“ What is thy name? ” then said Robin Hood, 

44 Come tell me, without any fail ”: 

“ By the faith of my body,” then said the young man, 
“ My name it is Allin a Dale.” 

“ What wilt thou give me,” said Robin Hood, 

“ In ready gold or fee, 

To help thee to thy true-love again, 

And deliver her unto thee? ” 

“ I have no money,” then quoth the young man, 

“ No ready gold nor fee, 

But I will swear upon a book 
Thy true servant for to be.” 

“ How many miles is it to thy true-love? 

Come tell me without any guile”: 

“ By the faith of my body,” then said the young man, 
“ It is but five little mile.” 


Then Robin he hasted over the plain, 

He did neither stint nor lin, 

Until he came unto the church, 

Where Allin should keep his wedding. 

“ What dost thou do here? ” the bishop he said, 
44 I prithee now tell to me ”: 

“lama bold harper,” quoth Robin Hood, 

44 And the best in the north countrey.” 


42 


Types of Childrens Literature 

“ 0 welcome, 0 welcome,” the bishop he said, 

“ That musick best pleaseth me 

“ You shall have no musick,” quoth Robin Hood, 
“ Till the bride and the bridegroom I see.” 

With that came in a wealthy knight, 

Which was both grave and old, 

And after him a finikin lass 
Did shine like glistering gold. 

“ This is no fit match,” quoth bold Robin Hood, 
“ That you do seem to make here ; 

For since we are come unto the church, 

The bride she shall chuse her own dear.” 

Then Robin Hood put his horn to his mouth, 

And blew blasts two or three; 

When four and twenty bowmen bold 
Came leaping over the lee. 

And when they came into the church-yard, 
Marching all on a row, 

The first man was Allin a Dale, 

To give bold Robin his bow. 


“ This is thy true-love,” Robin he said, 

“ Young Allin, as I hear say: 

And you shall be married at this same time, 
Before we depart away.” 

“ That shall not be,” the bishop he said, 

“ For thy word shall not stand; 

They shall be three times askt in the church, 
As the law is of our land.” 

Robin Hood pulld off the bishop’s coat, 

And put it upon Little John; 

“ By the faith of my body,” then Robin said, 
“ This cloath doth make thee a man.” 


Ballads 


43 


When Little John went into the quire, 

The people began for to laugh; 

He askt them seven times in the church, 

Lest three times should not be enough. 

44 Who gives me this maid? ” then said Little John; 

Quoth Robin, 44 That do I, 

And he that doth take her from Allin a Dale 
Full dearly he shall her buy.” 

And thus having ended this merry wedding, 

The bride lookt as fresh as a queen, 

And so they returned to the merry greenwood, 
Amongst the leaves so green. 

KINMONT WILLIE 

O! have ye na heard o’ the fause Sakelde? 

0! have ye na heard o’ the keen Lord Scroope? 
How they hae taen bauld Kinmont Willie 
On Haribee to hang him up? 

Had Willie had but twenty men, 

But twenty men as stout as he, 

Fause Sakelde had never the Kinmont ta’en, 

Wi’ eight score in his companie. 

They band his legs beneath the steed, 

They tied his hands behind his back; 

They guarded him, fivesome on each side, 

And they brought him ower the Liddel-rack. 

They led him thro’ the Liddel-rack, 

And also thro’ the* Carlisle sands; 

They brought him to Carlisle castell, 

To be at my Lord Scroope’s commands. 

44 My hands are tied, but my tongue is free, 

And whae will dare this deed avow? 

Or answer by the border law? 

Or answer to the bauld Buccleuch? ” 


44 


Types of Childrens Literature 

“ Now baud thy tongue, thou rank reiver ! 

There’s never a Scot shall set thee free; 
Before ye cross my castle yate, 

I trow ye shall take farewell o’ me.” 


“ Fear na ye that, my lord,” quo’ Willie; 

“ By the faith o’ my bodie, Lord Scroope,” he said, 

“ I never yet lodged in a hostelrie 
But I paid my lawing before I gaed.” 

Now word is gane to the bauld Keeper, 

In Branksome Ha’, where that he lay, 

That Lord Scroope has ta’en the Kinmont Willie, 
Between the hours of night and day. 

He has ta’en the table wi’ his hand, 

He garr’d the red wine spring on hie — 

“ Now Christ’s curse on my head,” he said, 

“ But avenged of Lord Scroope I’ll be! 

“ Oh is my basnet a widow’s curch? 

Or my lance a wand of the willow-tree? 

Or my arm a ladye’s lilye hand. 

That an English lord should lightly me? 

“ And have they ta’en him, Kinmont Willie, 

Against the truce of the Bordertide? 

And forgotten that the bauld Buccleuch 
Is keeper here on the Scottish side? 

“ And have they e’en ta’en him, Kinmont Willie, 
Withouten either Bread or fear? 

And forgotten that the bauld Buccleuch 
Can back a steed, or shake a spear? 

“ 0 were there war between the lands, 

As well I wot that there is none, 

I would slight Carlisle castell high, 

Tho it were builded of marble stone. 


Ballads 


45 


“ I would set that castell in a low, 

And sloken it with English blood! 

There’s never a man in Cumberland 
Should ken where Carlisle castell stood. 

“ But since nae war’s between the lands, 

And there is peace, and peace should be; 

I’ll neither harm English lad or lass, 

And yet the Kinmont freed shall be! ” 

He has call’d him forty Marchmen bauid. 

I trow they were of his ain name, 

Except Sir Gilbert Elliot, call’d 

The Laird of Stobs, I mean the same. 

He has call’d him forty Marchmen bauid, 
Were kinsmen to the bauid Buccleuch ; 

With spur on heel, and splent on spauld; 

And gleuves of green, and feathers blue. 

There were five and five before them a’, 

Wi’ hunting-horns and bugles bright; 

And five and five came wi’ Buccleuch, 

Like warden’s men, array’d for fight; 

And five and five, like a mason gang, 

That carried the ladders lang and hie; 

And five and five, like broken men; 

And so they reach’d the Woodhouselee. 

And as we cross’d the Bateable Land, 

When to the English side we held, 

The first o’ men that we met wi’, 

Whae sould it be but fause Sakelde? 

“ Where be ye gaun, ye hunters keen? ” 

Quo’ fause Sakelde; “ come tell to me! ” — 

“ We go to hunt an English stag, 

Has trespass’d on the Scots countrie.” 


46 


Types of Childrens Literature 

“ Where be ye gaun, ye marshal men? ” 

Quo’ fause Sakelde; 44 come tell me true! ” — 

44 We go to catch a rank reiver, 

Has broken faith wi’ the bauld Buccleuch. 

44 Where are ye gaun, ye mason lads, 

Wi’ a’ your ladders, lang and hie? ” — 

44 We gang to herry a corbie’s nest, 

That wons not far frae Woodhouselee.” — 

44 Where be ye gaun, ye broken men? ” 

Quo’ fause Sakelde; 44 come tell to me! ” — 

Now Dickie of Dryhope led that band, 

And the nevir a word of lear had he. 

44 Why trespass ye on the English side? 
Row-footed outlaws, stand! ” quo' he; 

The nevir a word had Dickie to say, 

Sae he thrust the lance through his fause bodie. 

Then on we held for Carlisle toun, 

And at Staneshaw-bank the Eden we cross’d; 

The water was great and meikle of spait, 

But the nevir a horse nor man we lost. 

And when we reach’d the Staneshaw-bank, 

The wind was rising loud and hie; 

And there the laird garr’d leave our steeds, 

For fear that they should stamp and nie. 

And when we left the Staneshaw-bank, 

The wind began full loud to blaw, 

But ’twas wind and weet, and fire and sleet, 
When we came beneath the castel wa\ 

We crept on knees, and held our breath, 

Till we placed the ladders against the wa’; 

And sae ready was Buccleuch himsell 
To mount the first before us a’. 

He has ta’en the watchman by the throat, 

He flung him down upon the lead — 


Ballads 


47 


11 Had there not been peace between our lands, 
Upon the other side thou hadst gaed ! — 

“ Now sound out, trumpets! ” quo’ Buccleuch; 

“ Let’s waken Lord Scroope right merrilie ! ” 

Then loud the warden’s trumpet blew — 

44 0 wha dare meddle wi’ me? ” 

Then speedilie to wark we gaed, 

And raised the slogan ane and a’, 

And cut a hole through a sheet of lead, 

And so we wan to the castle ha’. 

They thought King James and a’ his men 
Had won the house wi’ bow and spear; 

It was but twenty Scots and ten, 

That put a thousand in sic a stear! 

Wi’ coulters, and wi’ forehammers, 

We garr’d the bars bang merrilie, 

Until we came to the inner prison. 

Where Willie o’ Kinmont he did lie. 

And when we cam to the lower prison, 

Where Willie o’ Kinmont he did lie — 

44 0, sleep ye, wake ye, Kinmont Willie, 

Upon the morn that thou’s to die? ” — 

44 0, I sleep saft, and I wake aft, 

It’s lang since sleeping was fley’d frae me; 

Gie my service back to my wife and bairns. 
And a ’ gude fellows that spier for me.” — 

Then Red Rowan has hente him up, 

The starkest man in Teviotdale — 

44 Abide, abide now, Red Rowan, 

Till of my Lord Scroope I take farewell. 

44 Farewell, farewell, my gude Lord Scroope! 
My gude Lord Scroope, farewell! ” he cried; 

44 I'll pay you for my lodging maill 

When first we meet on the Border side.” 


Types of Children s Literature 

Then shoulder high, with shout and cry, 

We bore him down the ladder lang; 

At every stride Red Rowan made, 

I wot the Kinmonfs aims play’d clang. 

“ 0 mony a time,” quo’ Kinmont Willie, 

“ I have ridden horse baith wild and wood; 

But a rougher beast than Red Rowan 
I ween my legs have ne’er bestrode. 

“And mony a time,” quo’ Kinmont Willie, 

“ I‘ve prick’d a horse out oure the furs; 

But since the day I back’d a steed 

I never wore sic cumbrous spurs! ” — 

We scarce had won the Staneshaw-bank, 
When a’ the Carlisle bells were rung, 

And a thousand men, on horse and foot, 

. Cam wi’ the keen Lord Scroope along. 

Buccleuch has turn’d to Eden Water, 

Even where it flow’d frae bank to brim, 

And he has plunged in wi’ a’ his band, 

And safely swam them through the stream. 

He turn’d him on the other side, 

And at Lord Scroope his glove flung he - — 

“ If ye like na my visit in merry England, 

In fair Scotland come visit me! ” 

All sore astonish’d stood Lord Scroope, 

He stood as still as rock of stane; 

He scarcely dared to trew his eyes. 

When through the water they had gane. 

“ He is either himsell a devil frae hell, 

Or else his mother a witch maun be; 

I wadna have ridden that wan water, 

For a’ the gowd in Christentie.” 


49 


Ballads 

9@oOern 

THE WRECK OF THE HESPERUS 
Henry Wadsworth Longfellow 

It was the schooner Hesperus , 

That sailed the wintry sea; 

And the skipper had taken his little daughter, 
To bear him company. 

Blue were her eyes as the fairy-flax, 

Her cheeks like the dawn of day, 

And her bosom white as the hawthorn buds, 
That ope in the month of May. 

The skipper he stood beside the helm, 

His pipe was in his mouth, 

And he watched how the veering flaw did blow 
The smoke now West, now South. 

Then up and spake an old sailor, 

Had sailed to the Spanish Main, 

“ I pray thee, put into yonder port, 

For I fear a hurricane. 

“ Last night the moon had a golden ring, 

And tonight no moon we see ! ” 

The skipper, he blew a whiff from his pipe, 
And a scornful laugh laughed he. 

Colder and louder blew the wind, 

A gale from the Northeast, 

The snow fell hissing in the brine, 

And the billows frothed like yeast. 


Down came the storm, and smote amain 
The vessel in its strength; 

She shuddered and paused, like a frighted steed, 
Then leaped her cable’s length. 


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Types of Children s Literature 

“ Come hither! come hither! my little daughter, 
And do not tremble so; 

For I can weather the roughest gale 
That ever wind did blow.” 

He wrapped her warm in his seaman’s coat 
Against the stinging blast; 

He cut a rope from a broken spar, 

And bound her to the mast. 

44 0 father! I hear the church-bells ring, 

0 say, what may it be? ” 

44 ’Tis a fog-bell on a rock -bound coast! ” — 
And he steered for the open sea. 

44 0 father ! I hear the sound of guns, 

0 say, what may it be? ” 

44 Some ship in distress, that cannot live 
In such an angry sea! ” 

44 0 father ! I see a gleaming light, 

0 say, what may it be? ” 

But the father answered never a word, 

A frozen corpse was he. 

Lashed to the helm, all stiff and stark, 

With his face turned to the skies, 

The lantern gleamed through the gleaming snow 
On his fixed and glassy eyes. 

Then the maiden clasped her hands and prayed 
That saved she might be; 

And she thought of Christ, who stilled the wave 
On the Lake of Galilee. 

And fast through the midnight dark and drear, 
Through the whistling sleet and snow, 

Like a sheeted ghost, the vessel swept 
Tow’rds the reef of Norman’s Woe. 


Ballads 


51 


And ever the fitful gusts between 
A sound came from the land; 

It was the sound of the trampling surf 
On the rocks and the hard sea-sand. 

The breakers were right beneath her bows, 
She drifted a dreary wreck, 

And a whooping billow swept the crew 
Like icicles from her deck. 

She struck where the white and fleecy waves 
Looked soft as carded wool, 

But the cruel rocks, they gored her side 
Like the horns of an angry bull. 

Her rattling shrouds, all sheathed in ice, 
With the masts went by the board; 

Like a vessel of glass, she stove and sank, 

“ Ho ! ho ! ” the breakers roared ! 

At daybreak, on the bleak sea-beach, 

A fisherman stood aghast, 

To see the form of a maiden fair, 

Lashed close to a drifting mast. 

The salt sea was frozen on her breast, 

The salt tears in her eyes; 

And he saw her hair, like the brown seaweed, 
On the billows fall and rise. 

Such was the wreck of the Hesperus , 

In the midnight and the snow! 

Christ save us all from a death like this. 

On the reef of Norman’s Woe! 


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Types of Children s Literature 

LA BELLE DAME SANS MERCI 
John Keats 

Ah, what can ail thee, wretched wight, 
Alone and palely loitering? 

The sedge is wither’d from the lake, 

And no birds sing. 

Ah, what can ail thee, wretched wight, 
So haggard and so woe-begone? 

The squirrel’s granary is full, 

And the harvest’s done. 

I see a lily on thy brow, 

With anguish moist and fever dew; 

And on thy cheek a fading rose 
Fast withereth too. 

I met a lady in the meads 

Full beautiful — a faery’s child; 

Her hair was long, her foot was light, 
And her eyes were wild. 

I set her on my pacing steed, 

And nothing else saw all day long; 

For sideways would she lean, and sing 
A faery’s song. 

I made a garland for her head, 

And bracelets too, and fragrant zone; 

She look’d at me as she did love, 

And made sweet moan. 

She found me roots of relish sweet, 

And honey wild, and manna dew; 

And sure in language strange she said — 
“ I love thee true.” 

She took me to her elfin grot, 

And there she gazed, and sighed deep, 

And there I shut her wild wild eyes 
So kiss’d to sleep. 


Ballads 


53 


And there we slumber’d on the moss, 

And there I dream’d — Ah ! woe betide ! 

The latest dream I ever dream’d 
On the cold hill side. 

I saw pale kings, and princes too, 

Pale warriors, death-pale were they all 

They cried — 1,4 La Belle Dame sans Merci, 
Hath thee in thrall! ” 

I saw their starved lips in the gloam, 

With horrid warning gaped wide, 

And I awoke, and found me here 
On the cold hill side. 

And this is why I sojourn here, 

Alone and palely loitering, 

Though the sedge is wither’d from the lake, 
And no birds sing. 

LORD ULLIN’S DAUGHTER 
Thomas Campbell 

A chieftain to the Highlands bound, 

Cries, 44 Boatman, do not tarry! 

And I’ll give thee a silver pound 
To row us o’er the ferry.” — 

44 Now who be ye, would cross Lochgyle, 
This dark and stormy water? ” 

44 0, I’m the chief of Ulva’s isle, 

And this Lord Ullin’s daughter. 

44 And fast before her father’s men 
Three days we’ve fled together, 

For should he find us in the glen, 

My blood would stain the heather. 

44 His horsemen hard behind us ride; 

Should they our steps discover, 

Then who will cheer my bonny bride 
When they have slain her lover? ” — 


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Types of Childrens Literature 

Out spoke the hardy Highland wight, 

“ I’ll go, my chief — I’m ready: — 

It is not for your silver bright; 

But for your winsome lady: 

“ And by my word! the bonny bird 
In danger shall not tarry: 

So, though the waves are raging white, 
I’ll row you o’er the ferry.” — 

By this the storm grew loud apace, 

The water-wraith was shrieking; 

And in the scowl of heaven each face 
Grew dark as they were speaking. 

But still as wilder blew the wind, 

And as the night grew drearer, 

Adown the glen rode armed men, 

Their trampling sounded nearer. — 

“ 0 haste thee, haste! ” the lady cries, 

“ Though tempests round us gather ; 

I’ll meet the raging of the skies, 

But not an angry father.” — 

The boat has left a stormy land, 

A stormy sea before her, — 

When, oh! too strong for human hand, 
The tempest gathered o’er her. — 

And still they rowed amidst the roar 
Of waters fast prevailing: 

Lord Ullin reached that fatal shore, — 
His wrath was changed to wailing. — 


For sore dismayed, through storm and shade, 
His child he did discover: — 

One lovely hand she stretched for aid, 

And one was round her lover. 


Ballads 


55 


“ Come back ! come back ! ” he cried, in grief, 

44 Across this stormy water : 

And I’ll forgive your Highland chief, 

My daughter! oh, my daughter! ” — 

’Twas vain: — the loud waves lashed the shore. 

Return or aid preventing: — 

The waters wild went o’er his child, 

And he was left lamenting. 

YOUNG LOCHINVAR 
Sir Walter Scott 

Oh young Lochinvar is come out of the west, 

Through all the wide Border his steed was the best; 
And save his good broadsword he weapon had none; 

He rode all unarm’d, and he rode all alone. 

So faithful in love, and so dauntless in war, 

There never was knight like the young Lochinvar. 

He staid not for brake, and he stopp’d not for stone, 

He swam the Esk river where ford there was none ; 

But ere he alighted at Netherby gate, 

The bride had consented, the gallant came late : 

For a laggard in love, and a dastard in war, 

Was to wed the fair Ellen of brave Lochinvar. 

So boldly he enter’d the Netherby Hall, 

Among brid’smen, and kinsmen, and brothers, and all; 
Then spoke the bride’s father, his hand on his sword, 
(For the poor craven bridegroom said never a word,) 

44 0 come ye in peace here, or come ye in war, 

Or to dance at our bridal, young Lord Lochinvar? ” — 

44 1 long woo’d your daughter, my suit you denied; — 
Love swells like the Solway, but ebbs like its tide — 
And now am I come, with this lost love of mine, 

To lead but one measure, drink one cup of wine. 

There are maidens in Scotland more lovely by far, 
That would gladly be bride to the young Lochinvar.” 


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Types of Childrens Literature 

The bride kiss’d the goblet; the knight took it up, 

He quaff’d off the wine, and he threw down the cup. 

She look’d down to blush, and she look’d up to sigh, 

With a smile on her lips, and a tear in her eye. 

He took her soft hand, ere her mother could bar, — 

“ Now tread we a measure! ” said young Lochinvar. 

So stately his form, and so lovely her face, 

That never a hall such a galliard did grace; 

While her mother did fret, and her father did fume. 

And the bridegroom stood dangling his bonnet and plume; 
And the bride-maidens whispered, “ ’Twere better by far, 

To have match’d our fair cousin with young Lochinvar.” 

One touch to her hand, and one word in her ear, 

When they reach’d the hall-door, and the charger stood near; 
So light to the croupe the fair lady he swung, 

So light to the saddle before her he sprung! 

“ She is won! we are gone, over bank, bush, and scaur; 

They’ll have fleet steeds that follow,” quoth young Lochinvar. 

There was mounting ’mong Graemes of the Netherby clan ; 
Forsters, Fenwicks, and Musgraves, they rode and they ran: 
There was racing and chasing on Cannobie Lea, 

But the lost bride of Netherby ne’er did they see. 

So daring in love, and so dauntless in war, 

Have ye e’er heard of gallant like young Lochinvar? 

HOW THEY BROUGHT THE GOOD NEWS FROM 
GHENT TO AIX 

16 

Robert Browning 

I sprang to the stirrup, and Joris, and he; 

I galloped, Dirck galloped, we galloped all three; 

“ Good speed! ” cried the watch, as the gate-bolts undrew; 
“Speed! ” echoed the wall to us galloping through; 

Behind shut the postern, the lights sank to rest 
And into the midnight we galloped abreast. 


Ballads 


57 


Not a word to each other; we kept the great pace 
Neck by neck, stride by stride, never changing our place; 

I turned in my saddle and made its girths tight, 

Then shortened each stirrup, and set the pique right, 
Rebuckled the cheek-strap, chained slacker the bit, 

Nor galloped less steadily Roland a whit. 

Twas moonset at starting; but while we drew near 
Lokeren, the cocks crew and twilight dawned clear; 

At Boom, a great yellow star came out to see; 

At Duffeld, ’twas morning as plain as could be; 

And from Mecheln church-steeple we heard the half-chime, 
So Joris broke silence with, “Yet there is time! ” 

At Aershot, up leaped of a sudden the sun, 

And against him the cattle stood black every one, 

To stare through the mist at us galloping past, 

And I saw my stout galloper Roland at last, 

With resolute shoulders, each butting away 
The haze, as some bluff river headland its spray; 

And his low head and crest, just one sharp ear bent back 
For my voice, and the other pricked out on his track; 

And one eye’s black intelligence, — ever that glance 
O’er its white edge at me, his own master, askance! 

And the thick heavy spume-flakes which aye and anon 
His fierce lips shook upwards in galloping on. 

By Hasselt, Dirck groaned; and cried Joris, “Stay spur! 
Your Roos galloped bravely, the fault’s not in her, 

We’ll remember at Aix ” — for one heard the quick wheeze 
Of her chest, saw the stretched neck and staggering knees, 
And sunk tail, and horrible heave of the flank, 

As down on her haunches she shuddered and sank. 

So, we were left galloping, Joris and I, 

Past Looz and past Tongres, no cloud in the sky; 

The broad sun above laughed a pitiless laugh, 

’Neath our feet broke the brittle bright stubble like chaff ; 
Till over by Dalhem a dome-spire sprang white, 

And “ Gallop,” gasped Joris, “ for Aix is in sight! ” 


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Types of Childrens Literature 

“How they’ll greet us! ” — and all in a moment his roan 
Rolled neck and croup over, lay dead as a stone; 

And there was my Roland to bear the whole weight 
Of the news which alone could save Aix from her fate, 

With his nostrils like pits full of blood to the brim, 

And with circles of red for his eye-sockets’ rim. 

Then I cast loose my buff-coat, each holster let fall, 

Shook off both my jack-boots, let go belt and all, 

Stood up in the stirrup, leaned, patted his ear, 

Called my Roland his pet-name, my horse without peer; 
Clapped my hands, laughed and sang, any noise, bad or good, 
Till at length into Aix Roland galloped and stood. 

And all I remember is — friends flocking round 
As I sat with his head ’twixt my knees on the ground; 

And no voice but was praising this Roland of mine, 

As I poured down his throat our last measure of wine, 

Which (the burgesses voted by common consent) 

Was no more than his due who brought good news from Ghent, 

THE REVENGE 
A BALLAD OF THE FLEET 
Alfred Tennyson 
i 

At Flores in the Azores Sir Richard Grenville lay, 

And a pinnace, like a flutter’d bird, came flying from far away: 

“ Spanish ships of war at sea ! we have sighted fifty -three ! ” 

Then sware Lord Thomas Howard: “ ’Fore God I am no coward; 
But I cannot meet them here, for my ships are out of gear, 

And the half my men are sick. I must fly, but follow quick. 

We are six ships of the line; can we fight with fifty-three? ” 

II 

Then spake Sir Richard Grenville: “I know you are no coward; 
You fly them for a moment to fight with them again. 

But Eve ninety men and more that are lying sick ashore. 

I should count myself the coward if I left them, my Lord Howard, 
To these Inquisition dogs and the devildoms of Spain.” 


Ballads 


59 


hi 

So Lord Howard past away with five ships of war that day, 

Till he melted like a cloud in the silent summer heaven ; 

But Sir Richard bore in hand all his sick men from the land 
Very carefully and slow, 

Men of Bideford in Devon, 

And we laid them on the ballast down below; 

For we brought them all aboard, 

And they blest him in their pain, that they were not left to Spain, 

To the thumb-screw and the stake, for the glory of the Lord. 

IV 

He had only a hundred seamen to work the ship and to fight. 

And he sailed away from Flores till the Spaniard came in sight, 
With his huge sea-castles heaving upon the weatherbow. 

“ Shall we fight or shall we fly? 

Good Sir Richard, tell us now, 

For to fight is but to die! 

There’ll be little of us left by the time this sun be set.” 

And Sir Richard said again : “ We be all good Englishmen. 

Let us bang these dogs of Seville, the children of the devil, 

For I never turn’d my back upon Don or devil yet.” 

v 

Sir Richard spoke and he laugh’d, and we roar’d a hurrah, and so 
The little Revenge ran on sheer into the heart of the foe, 

With her hundred fighters on deck, and her ninety sick below; 

For half of their fleet to the right and half to the left were seen, 

And the little Revenge ran on thro’ the long sea-lane between. 

VI 

Thousands of their soldiers look’d down from their decks and 
laugh’d, 

Thousands of their seamen made mock at the mad little craft 
Running on and on, till delay’d 

By their mountain-like San Philip that, of fifteen hundred tons, 

And up-shadowing high above us with her yawning tiers of guns, 
Took the breath from our sails, and we stay’d. 


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VII 

And while now the great San Philip hung above us like a cloud 
Whence the thunderbolt will fall 
Long and loud, 

Four galleons drew away 
From the Spanish fleet that day, 

And two upon the larboard and two upon the starboard lay, 

And the battle-thunder broke from them all. 

VIII 

But anon the great San Philip, she bethought herself and went, 
Having that within her womb that had left her ill content; 

And the rest they came aboard us, and they fought us hand to hand, 
For a dozen times they came with their pikes and musqueteers, 

And a dozen times we shook ’em off as a dog that shakes his ears, 
When he leaps from the water to the land. 

IX 

And the sun went down, and the stars came out far over the sum- 
mer sea, 

But never a moment ceased the fight of the one and the fifty-three. 
Ship after ship, the whole night long, their high-built galleons came, 
Ship after ship, the whole night long, with her battle-thunder and 
flame; 

Ship after ship, the whole night long, drew back with her dead and 
her shame. 

For some were sunk and many were shatter’d, and so could fight us 
no more — 

God of battles, was ever a battle like this in the world before? 

x 

For he said, “ Fight on! fight on! ” 

Tho’ his vessel was all but a wreck; 

And it chanced that, when half of the short summer night was gone, 
With a grisly wound to be drest he had left the deck, 

But a bullet struck him that was dressing it suddenly dead, 

And himself he was wounded again in the side and the head, 

And he said, “ Fight on! fight on! ” 


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61 


XI 

And the night went down, and the sun smiled out far over the sum- 
mer sea, 

And the Spanish fleet with broken sides lay round us all in a ring; 
But they dared not touch us again, for they fear’d that we still could 
sting, 

So they watch’d what the end would be. 

And we had not fought them in vain, 

But in perilous plight were we. 

Seeing forty of our poor hundred were slain, 

And half of the rest of us maim’d for life 

In the crash of the cannonades and the desperate strife; 

And the sick men down in the hold were most of them stark and cold, 
And the pikes were all broken or bent, and the powder was all of 
it spent; 

And the masts and the rigging were lying over the side; 

But Sir Richard cried in his English pride: 

44 We have fought such a fight for a day and a night 
As may never be fought again! 

We have won great glory, my men! 

And a day less or more 
At sea or ashore, 

We die — does it matter when ? 

Sink me the ship. Master Gunner — sink her, split her in twain ! 

Fall into the hands of God, not into the hands of Spain! ” 

XII 

And the gunner said, 44 Ay, ay,” but the seamen made reply: 

44 We have children, we have wives, 

And the Lord hath spared our lives. 

We will make the Spaniard promise, if we yield, to let us go; 

We shall live to fight again and to strike another blow.” 

And the lion there lay dying, and they yielded to the foe. 

XIII 

And the stately Spanish men to their flagship bore him then, 

Where they laid him by the mast, old Sir Richard caught at last, 

And they praised him to his face with their cpurtly foreign grace; 

But he rose upon their decks, and he cried : 

44 1 have fought for Queen and Faith like a valiant man and true; 


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Types of Childrens Literature 

I have only done my duty as a man is bound to do. 

With a joyful spirit I Sir Richard Grenville die! ” 

And he fell upon their decks, and he died. 

XIV 

And they stared at the dead that had been so valiant and true, 

And had holden the power and glory of Spain so cheap 
That he dared her with one little ship and his English few; 

Was he devil or man? He was devil for aught they knew, 

But they sank his body with honor down into the deep, 

And they mann’d the Revenge with a swarthier alien crew, 

And away she sail’d with her loss and long’d for her own; 

When a wind from the lands they had ruin’d awoke from sleep, 

And the water began to heave and the weather to moan, 

And or ever that evening ended a great gale blew, 

And a wave like the wave that is raised by an earthquake grew, 

Till it smote on their hulls and their sails and their masts and their 
flags, 

And the whole sea plunged and fell on the shot-shatter’d navy of 
Spain, 

And the little Revenge herself went down by the island crags 
To be lost evermore in the main. 


LYRICS 

SDut Country 

AMERICA 

Samuel Francis Smith 

My country, ’tis of thee, 

Sweet land of liberty; 

Of thee I sing; 

Land where my fathers died, 
Land of the pilgrims’ pride, — 
From every mountain side 
Let freedom ring. 

My native country, thee, 

Land of the noble free, — 

Thy name I love; 

I love thy rocks and rills, 

Thy woods and templed hills; 
My heart with rapture thrills 
Like that above. 

Let music swell the breeze, 

And ring from all the trees 
Sweet freedom’s song; 

Let mortal tongues awake, 

Let all that breathe partake! 

Let rocks their silence break, — 
The sound prolong. 

Our fathers’ God, — to Thee, 
Author of liberty, 

To Thee we sing; 

Long may our land be bright 
With freedom’s holy light; 
Protect us by thy might, 

Great God, our King. 


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Types of Children’s Literature 
MY NATIVE LAND 
Sir Walter Scott 

Breathes there the ifian, with soul so dead, 
Who -never to himself hath said, 

44 This is my own, my native land! ” 
Whose heart hath ne’er within him burn’d, 
As home his footsteps he hath turn’d 
From wandering on a foreign strand! 

If such there breathe, go mark him well; 
For him no Minstrel raptures swell; 

High though his titles, proud his name, 
Boundless his wealth as wish can claim; 
Despite those titles, power, and pelf, 

The wretch, concent’red all in self, 

Living, shall forfeit fair renown, 

And, doubly dying, shall go down 
To the vile dust from whence he sprung, 
Unwept, unhonor’d, and unsung. 

COLUMBUS 
Joaquin Miller 

Behind him lay the gray Azores, 

Behind the Gates of Hercules; 

Before him not the ghost of shores, 

Before him only shoreless seas. 

The good mate said : 44 Now must we pray, 

For lo! the very stars are gone, 

Brave Adm’r’l, speak; what shall I say? ” 
44 Why, say: 4 Sail on! sail on! and on! 

44 My men grow mutinous day by day; 

My men grow ghastly, wan and weak.” 
The stout mate thought of home; a spray 
Of salt wave washed his swarthy cheek. 

44 What shall I say, brave Adm’r’l, say, 

If we sight naught but seas at dawn? ” 

44 Why, you shall say at break of day: 

4 Sail on ! sail on ! sail on ! and on ! ’ ” 


65 


Lyrics 

They sailed and sailed, as winds might blow, 

Until at last the blanched mate said: 

“ Why, now not even God would know 
Should I and all my men fall dead. 

These very winds forget their way, 

For God from these dread seas is gone. 

Now speak, brave Adm’r’l; speak and say — ” 

He said : “ Sail on ! sail on ! and on ! ” 

They sailed. They sailed. Then spake the mate: 

“ This mad sea shows his teeth tonight. 

He curls his lip, he lies in wait, 

He lifts his teeth, as if to bite! 

Brave Adm’r’l, say but one good word : 

What shall we do when hope is gone? ” 

The words leapt like a leaping sword: 

“Sail on! sail on! sail on! and on! ” 

Then, pale and worn, he paced his deck, 

And peered through darkness. Ah, that night. 

Of all dark nights! And then a speck — 

A light! A light! At last a light! 

It grew, a starlit flag unfurled! 

It grew to be Time’s burst of dawn. 

He gained a world; he gave that world 
Its grandest lesson: “On! sail on!” 

THE LANDING OF THE PILGRIM FATHERS IN NEW 
ENGLAND 

Felicia Browne Hemans 

Look now abroad! Another race has fill’d 

Those populous borders — wide the wood recedes, 

And towns shoot up, and fertile realms are till’d; 

The land is full of harvests and green meads. 

— Bryant 


The breaking waves dash’d high 
On a stern and rockbound coast, 
And the woods against a stormy sky 
Their giant branches toss’d. 


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Types of Children s Literature 

And the heavy night hung dark 
The hills and waters o’er, 

When a band of exiles moor’d their bark 
On the wild New England shore. 

Not as the conqueror comes, 

They, the true-hearted, came; 

Not with the roll of the stirring drums, 

And the trumpet that sings of fame; 

Not as the flying come, 

In silence and in fear; — 

They shook the depths of the desert gloom 
With their hymns of lofty cheer. 

Amidst the storm they sang. 

And the stars heard and the sea; 

And the sounding aisles of the dim woods rang 
To the anthem of the free! 

The ocean eagle soar’d 

From his nest by the white wave’s foam; 

And the rocking pines of the forest roar’d, — 
This was their welcome home! 

There w T ere men with hoary hair 
Amidst that pilgrim band; — 

Why had they come to wither here, 

Away from their childhood’s land? 

There was woman’s fearless eye, 

Lit by her deep love’s truth; 

There was manhood’s brow T serenely high, 

And the fiery heart of youth. 


What sought they thus afar? 

Bright jewels of the mine? 

The w 7 ealth of seas, the spoils of war? — 
They sought a faith’s pure shrine! 


67 


Lyrics 

Ay, call it holy ground, 

The soil where first they trod. 

They have left unstained, what there they found — 
Freedom to worship God. 

CONCORD HYMN 

SUNG AT THE COMPLETION OF THE BATTLE MONUMENT, 
APRIL 19, 1836 

Ralph Waldo Emerson 

By the rude bridge that arched the flood, 

Their flag to April’s breeze unfurled, 

Here once the embattled farmers stood, 

And fired the shot heard round the world. 

The foe long since in silence slept; 

Alike the conqueror silent sleeps; 

And Time the ruined bridge has swept 

Down the dark stream which seaward creeps. 

On this green bank, by this soft stream, 

We set today a votive stone ; 

That memory may their deed redeem, 

When, like our sires, our sons are gone. 

Spirit, that made those heroes dare 
To die, and leave their children free, 

Bid Time and Nature gently spare 
The shaft we raise to them and thee. 

OLD IRONSIDES 
Oliver Wendell Holmes 

Ay, tear her tattered ensign down ! 

Long has it waved on high, 

And many an eye has danced to see 
That banner in the sky; 

Beneath it rung the battle shout, 

And burst the cannon’s roar; — 

The meteor of- the ocean air 

Shall sweep the clouds no morel 


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Her deck, once red with heroes’ blood, 

Where knelt the vanquished foe, 

When winds were hurrying o’er the liood, 

And waves were white below, 

No more shall feel the victor’s tread, 

Or know the conquered knee; — 

The harpies of the shore shall pluck 
The eagle of the sea! 

0 better that her shattered hulk 
Should sink beneath the wave; 

Her thunders shook the mighty deep, 

And there should be her grave; 

Nail to the mast her holy flag, 

Set every threadbare sail, 

And give her to the god of storms, 

The lightning and the gale! 

0 CAPTAIN! MY CAPTAIN! 

Walt Whitman 

0 Captain! my Captain! our fearful trip is done, 

The ship has weather’d every rack, the prize we sought is won, 

The port is near, the bells I hear, the people all exulting. 

While follow eyes the steady keel, the vessel grim and daring; 

But 0 heart! heart! heart! 

0 the bleeding drops of red. 

Where on the deck my Captain lies, 

Fallen cold and dead. 

0 Captain! my Captain! rise up and hear the bells; 

Rise up — for you the flag is flung — for you the bugle trills, 

For you bouquets and ribbon’d wreaths — for you the shores 
a-crowding, 

For you they call, the swaying mass, their eager faces turning; 
Here Captain! dear father! 

This arm beneath your head! 

It is some dream that on the deck 
You’ve fallen cold and dead. 


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Lyrics 

My Captain does not answer, his lips are pale and still, 

My father does not feel my arm, he has no pulse nor will, 

The ship is anchor’d safe and sound, its voyage closed and done, 
From fearful trip the victor ship comes in with object won; 

Exult, 0 shores, and ring, 0 bells! 

But I, with mournful tread, 

Walk the deck my Captain lies, 

Fallen cold and dead. 


Types of Children s Literature 

Lotoe JLprics 

TO LUCASTA, ON GOING TO THE WARS 
Richard Lovelace 

Tell me not, Sweet, I am unkind, 

That from the nunnery 
Of thy chaste breast and quiet mind, 

To war and arms I- fly. 

True, a new mistress now I chase, 

The first foe in the field; 

And with a stronger faith embrace 
A sword, a horse, a shield. 

Yet this inconstancy is such, 

As you, too, shall adore; 

I could not love thee, Dear, so much, 
Loved I not Honor more. 

SHE WALKS IN BEAUTY 
George Gordon Byron 

She walks in beauty, like the night 
Of cloudless climes and starry skies; 

And all that’s best of dark and bright 
Meet in her aspect and her eyes: 

Thus mellow’d to that tender light 
Which heaven to gaudy day denies. 

One shade the more, one ray the less, 

Had half impair’d the nameless grace 
Which waves in every raven tress, 

Or softly lightens o’er her face; 

Where thoughts serenely sweet express 
How pure, how dear their dwelling place. 

And on that cheek, and o’er that brow, 

So soft, so calm, yet eloquent, 


71 


Lyrics 

The smiles that win, the tints that glow, 
But tell of days in goodness spent, 

A mind at peace with all below, 

A heart whose love is innocent! 


A RED, RED ROSE 
Robert Burns 

0, my luve is like a red, red rose, 
That’s newly sprung in June. 

0, my luve is like the melodie 
That’s sweetly play’d in tune. 

As fair art thou, my bonie lass, 

So deep in luve am I, 

And I will luve thee still, my dear, 
Till a’ the seas gang dry. 

Till a’ the seas gang dry, my dear, 
And the rocks melt wi’ the sun! 

And I will luve thee still, my dear, 
While the sands o’ life shall run. 

And fare thee weel, my only luve, 
And fare thee weel a while! 

And I will come again, my luve, 
Tho’ it were ten thousand mile! 


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Types of Children’s Literature 

poems of J!3ature 

THE GREENWOOD TREE 
William Shakespeare 

Under the greenwood tree 
Who loves to lie with me, 

And turn his merry note 
Unto the sweet bird’s throat — 

Come hither, come hither, come hither! 
Here shall he see 
No enemy 

But winter and rough weather. 

Who doth ambition shun 
And loves to live i’ the sun, 

Seeking the food he eats, 

And pleased with what he gets — 
Come hither, come hither, come hither! 
Here shall he see 
No enemy 

But winter and rough weather. 

A WET SHEET AND A FLOWING SEA 
Allan Cunningham 

A wet sheet and a flowing sea, 

A wind that follows fast 
And fills the white and rustling sail, 

And bends the gallant mast! 

And bends the gallant mast, my boys, 
While, like the eagle free. 

Away the good ship flies, and leaves 
Old England on the lee. 

“ 0 for a soft and gentle wind ! ” 

I heard a fair one cry; 

But give to me the swelling breeze, 

And white waves heaving high: 

The white waves heaving high, my lads, 
The good ship tight and free; 


73 


Lyrics 

The world of waters is our home, 

And merry men are we. 

There’s tempest in yon horned moon, 

And lightning in yon cloud; 

And hark the music, mariners! 

The wind is wakening loud. 

The wind is wakening loud, my boys. 

The lightning flashes free — 

The hollow oak our palace is, 

Our heritage the sea. 

I WANDERED LONELY AS A CLOUD 
William Wordsworth 

I wandered lonely as a cloud 

That floats on high o’er vales and hills, 
When all at once I saw a crowd, 

A host, of golden daffodils; 

Beside the lake, beneath the trees, 
Fluttering and dancing in the breeze. 

Continuous as the stars that shine 
And twinkle on the milky way, 

They stretched in never ending line 
Along the margin of a bay: 

Ten thousand saw I at a glance, 

Tossing their heads in sprightly dance. 

The waves beside them danced; but they 
Outdid the sparkling waves in glee: 

A poet could not but be gay 
In such a jocund company: 

I gazed — and gazed — but little thought 
What wealth the show to me had brought: 

For oft, when on my couch I lie 
In vacant or in pensive mood, 

They flash upon that inward eye 
Which is the bliss of solitude; 

And then my heart with pleasure fills, 

And dances with the daffodils. 


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Types of Childrens Literature 

THE RHODORA 

On being asked, Whence is the flower? 

Ralph Waldo Emerson 

In May, when sea-winds pierced our solitudes, 

I found the fresh Rhodora in the woods, 

Spreading its leafless blooms in a damp nook, 

To please the desert and the sluggish brook. 

The purple petals, fallen in the pool, 

Made the black water with their beauty gay; 

Here might the red-bird come his plumes to cool, 

And court the flower that cheapens his array. 

Rhodora! if the sages ask thee why 
This charm is wasted on the earth and sky, 

Tell them, dear, that if eyes were made for seeing, 

Then Beauty is its own excuse for being : 

Why thou wert there, 0 rival of the rose! 

I never thought to ask, I never knew ; 

But, in my simple ignorance, suppose 

The selfsame Power that brought me there brought you. 

TO THE FRINGED GENTIAN 
Wllliam Cullen Bryant 

Thou blossom bright with autumn dew. 

And colored with the heaven’s own blue, 

That openest when the quiet light 
* Succeeds the keen and frosty night. 

Thou comest not when violets lean 

O’er wandering brooks and springs unseen, 

Or columbines, in purple drest, 

Nod o’er the ground-bird’s hidden nest. 

Thou waitest late, and com’st alone, 

When woods are bare and birds are flown, 

And frosts and shortening days portend 
The aged year is near his end. 


75 


Lyrics 

Then doth thy sweet and quiet eye 
Look through its fringes to the sky, 

Blue — blue — as if that sky let fall 
A flower from its cerulean wall. 

I would that thus, when I shall see 
The hour of death draw near to me, 

Hope, blossoming within my heart, 

May look to heaven as I depart. 

THE EAGLE 
Alfred Tennyson 

He clasps the crag with crooked hands; . 
Close to the sun in lonely lands, 

Ringed with the azure world, he stands. 

The wrinkled sea beneath him crawls; 

He watches from his mountain walls, 

And like a thunderbolt he falls. 

ON THE GRASSHOPPER AND CRICKET 
John Keats 

The poetry of earth is never dead: 

When all the birds are faint with the hot sun, 
And hide in cooling trees, a voice will run 
From hedge to hedge about the new-mown mead; 
That is the grasshopper’s — he takes the lead 
In summer luxury, — he has never done 
With his delights; for, when tired out with fun, 
He rests at ease beneath some pleasant weed. 
The poetry of earth is ceasing never. 

On a lone winter evening, when the frost 
Has wrought a silence, from the stove there shrills 
The cricket’s song, in warmth increasing ever, 
And seems to one, in drowsiness half lost, 

The grasshopper’s among some grassy hills. 


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Types of Children s Literature 

He00 on0 from Mature 

TO A WATERFOWL 
William Cullen Bryant 

Whither, midst falling dew, 

While glow the heavens with the last steps of days, 
Far, through their rosy depths, dost thou pursue 
Thy solitary way? 

Vainly the fowler’s eye 

Might mark thy distant flight to do thee wrong, 
As, darkly seen against the crimson sky, 

Thy figure floats along. 

Seek’st thou the plashy brink 
Of weedy lake or marge of river wide, 

Or where the rocking billows rise and sink 
On the chafed ocean-side? 

There is a Power whose care 
Teaches thy way along that pathless coast, — 

The desert and illimitable air, — 

Lone wandering, but not lost. 

All day thy wings have fanned, 

At that far height, the cold, thin atmosphere, 

Yet stoop not, weary, to the welcome land, 
Though the dark night is near. 

And soon that toil shall end ; 

Soon shalt thou find a summer home, and rest, 
And scream among thy fellows; reeds shall bend, 
Soon, o’er thy sheltered nest. 

Thou’rt gone! the abyss of heaven 
Hath swallowed up thy form; yet, on my heart 
Deeply has sunk the lesson thou hast given, 

And shall not soon depart. 


77 


Lyrics 

He who, from zone to zone, 

Guides through the boundless sky thy certain flight, 

In the long way that I must tread alone, 

Will lead my steps aright. 

THE CHAMBERED NAUTILUS 
Oliver Wendell Holmes 

This is the ship of pearl, which, poets feign, 

Sails the unshadowed main, — 

The venturous bark that flings 
On the sweet summer wind its purpled wings 
In gulfs enchanted, where the Siren sings, 

And coral reefs lie bare, 

Where the cold sea maids rise to sun their streaming hair. 


Its webs of living gauze no more unfurl; 
Wrecked is the ship of pearl! 

And every chambered cell, 

Where its dim dreaming life was wont to dwell, 
As the frail tenant shaped his growing shell, 
Before thee lies revealed, — 

Its irised ceiling rent, its sunless crypt unsealed ! 


Year after year beheld the silent toil 
That spread his lustrous coil; 

Still, as the spiral grew, 

He left the past year’s dwelling for the new, 

Stole with soft step its shining archway through, 

Built up its idle door, 

Stretched in his last-found home, and knew the old no more. 


Thanks for the heavenly message brought by thee, 

Child of the wandering sea. 

Cast from her lap, forlorn! 

From thy dead lips a clearer note is born 
Than ever Triton blew from wreathed horn ! 

While on mine ear it rings, 

Through the deep caves of thought I hear a voice that sings: — 


78 


Types of Childrens Literature 

Build thee more stately mansions, O my soul, 

As the swift seasons roll! 

Leave thy low-vaulted past! 

Let each new temple, nobler than the last, 

Shut thee from heaven with a dome more vast, 

Till thou at length art free, 

Leaving thine outgrown shell by life’s unresting sea 

THE BUGLE SONG 
Alfred Tennyson 

The splendor falls on castle walls 
And snowy summits old in story; 

The long light shakes across the lakes, 

And the wild cataract leaps in glory. 

Blow, bugle, blow, set the wild echoes flying, 

Blow, bugle; answer, echoes, dying, dying, dying. 

0, hark, 0, hear! how thin and clear, 

And thinner, clearer, farther going! 

0, sweet and far from cliff and scar 
The horns of Elfland faintly blowing! 

Blow, let us hear the purple glens replying: 

Blow, bugle; answer, echoes, dying, dying, dying. 

0 love, they die in yon rich sky, 

They faint on hill or field or river; 

Our echoes roll from soul to soul, 

And grow forever and forever. 

Blow, bugle, blow, set the wild echoes flying, 

And answer, echoes, answer, dying, dying, dying. 


n 


Lyrics 

§>ong0 of Life 

THE NOBLE NATURE 
Ben Jonson 

It is not growing like a tree 
In bulk, doth make men better be, 

Or standing long an oak, three hundred year, 
To fall a log at last, dry, bald, and sere: 

A lily of a day, 

Is fairer far, in May, 

Although it fall and die that night; 

It was the plant and flower of light. 

In small proportions we just beauty see; 
And in short measures, life may perfect be. 


THE CHARACTER OF A HAPPY LIFE 
Sir Henry Wotton 

How happy is he born and taught, 

That serveth not another’s will; 

Whose armor is his honest thought, 

And simple truth, his utmost skill; 

Whose passions not his masters are, 

Whose soul is still prepared for death, 

Untied unto the world by care 

Of public fame or private breath; 

Who envies none that chance doth raise, 
Nor vice; who never understood 

How deepest wounds are given by praise, 
Nor rules of state, but rules of good; 

Who hath his life from rumors freed, 
Whose conscience is his strong retreat; 

Whose state can neither flatterers feed, 

Nor ruin make oppressors great; 


Types of Children s Literature 

Who God doth late and early pray, 

More of his grace than gifts to lend, 

And entertains the harmless day 
With a religious book, or friend. 

This man is freed from servile bands 
Of hope to rise, or fear to fall; 

Lord of himself, though not of lands, 

And having nothing, yet hath all. 

SAY NOT, THE STRUGGLE NOUGHT AVAILETH 
Arthur Hugh Clough 

Say not, the struggle nought availeth, 

The labor and the wounds are vain, 

The enemy faints not, nor faileth, 

And as things have been they remain. 

If hopes were dupes, fears may be liars; 

It may be, in yon smoke concealed, 

Your comrades chase e’en now the fliers, 

And, but for you, possess the field. 

For while the tired waves, vainly breaking, 
Seem here no painful inch to gain, 

Far back, through creeks and inlets making, 
Comes silent, flooding in, the main. 

And not by eastern windows only. 

When daylight comes, comes in the light, 

In front, the sun climbs slow, how slowly, 

But westward, look, the land is bright. 

FOR A’ THAT AN’ A’ THAT 
Robert Burns 

Is there for honest poverty 

That hings his head, an’ a’ that? 

The coward slave, we pass him by, — 

We dare be poor for a’ that! 


81 


Lyrics 

For a’ that, an’ a’ that. 

Our toils obscure, an’ a’ that, 

The rank is but the guinea’s stamp, 

The man’s the gowd for a’ that. 

What though on hamely fare we dine, 
Wear hodden gray, an’ a’ that? 

Gie fools their silks, and knaves their wine — 
A man’s a man for a’ that. 

For a’ that, an’ a’ that, 

Their tinsel show, an’ a ’that: 

The honest man, tho’ e’er sae poor, 

Is king o’ men for a’ that. 

Ye see yon birkie ca’d 44 a lord,” 

Wha’ struts an’ stares, an’ a ’that? 

Tho’ hundreds worship at his word, 

He’s but a cuif for a’ that. 

For a’ that, an’ a’ that, 

His riband, star, an’ a’ that, 

The man o’ independent mind 
He looks an’ laughs at a’ that. 

A prince can mak’ a belted knight, 

A marquis, duke, an’ a’ that! 

But an honest man’s aboon his might,— 

Guid faith, he mauna fa’ that! 

For a’ that, an’ a’ that, 

Their dignities an’ a’ that, 

The pith o’ sense, an’ pride o’ worth, 

Are higher rank than a’ that. 


Then let us pray that come it may, 

(As come it will for a’ that) 

That Sense and Worth, o’er a’ the earth, 
Shall bear the gree, an’ a’ that. 

For a’ that, an’ a’ that, 

It’s cornin’ yet, for a’ that. 

That man to man, the world o’er, 

Shall brithers be for a’ that. 


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Types of Children s Literature 

INVICTUS 

William Ernest Henley 

Out of the night that covers me, • 

Black as the Pit from pole to pole, 

I thank whatever gods may be 
For my unconquerable soul. 

In the fell clutch of circumstance 
I have not winced nor cried aloud. 

Under the bludgeonings of chance 
My head is bloody, but unbowed. 

Beyond this place of wrath and tears 
Looms but the Horror of the shade, 

And yet the menace of the years 

Finds, and shall find, me unafraid. 

It matters not how strait the gate. 

How charged with punishments the scroll, 

I am the master of my fate: 

I am the captain of my soul. 

OPPORTUNITY 
Edward Rowland Sill 

This I beheld, or dreamed it in a dream: — 

There spread a cloud of dust along a plain; 

And underneath the cloud, or in it, raged 
A furious battle, and men yelled, and swords 
Shocked upon swords and shields. A prince’s banner 
Wavered, then staggered backward, hemmed by foes. 
A craven hung along the battle’s edge, 

And thought, 44 Had I a sword of keener steel — 

That blue blade that the king’s son bears, — but this 
Blunt thing — ! ” he snapt and flung it from his hand, 
And lowering crept away and left the field. 

Then came the king’s son, w T ounded, sore bestead, 

And weaponless, and saw the broken sword, 
Hilt-buried in the dry and trodden sand, 


83 


Lyrics 

And ran and snatched it, and with battle-shout 
Lifted afresh he hewed his enemy down, 

And saved a great cause that heroic day. 

A PSALM OF LIFE 
Henry Wadsworth Longfellow 

Tell me not, in mournful numbers, 

Life is but an empty dream! — 

For the soul is dead that slumbers, 

And things are not what they seem. 

Life is real ! Life is earnest! 

And the grave is not its goal ; 

Dust thou art, to dust returnest, 

Was not spoken of the soul. 

Not enjoyment, and not sorrow, 

Is our destined end or way; 

But to act, that each tomorrow 
Finds us farther than today. 

Art is long, and Time is fleeting, 

And our hearts, though stout and brave, 
Still, like muffled drums, are beating 
Funeral marches to the grave. 

In the world’s broad field of battle, 

In the bivouac of Life, 

Be not like dumb, driven cattle! 

Be a hero in the strife! 

Trust no Future, howe’er pleasant! 

Let the dead Past bury its dead ! 

Act, — act in the living Present, 

Heart within, and God o’erhead ! 

Lives of great men all remind us 
We can make our lives sublime, 

And, departing, leave behind us 
Footprints on the sands of time; — 


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Types of Childrens Literature 

Footprints, that perhaps another, 
Sailing o’er life’s solemn main, 

A forlorn and shipwrecked brother, 
Seeing, shall take heart again. 

Let us, then, be up and doing, 

With a heart for any fate; 

Still achieving, still pursuing, 

Learn to labor and to wait. 


FABLES 

aesop 

THE DOG AND THE SHADOW 

A Dog, crossing a little rivulet with a piece of meat in his mouth, 
saw his own shadow represented in the clear mirror of the limpid 
stream; and, believing it to be another dog, who was carrying a 
larger piece of meat, he could not forbear catching at it; but was 
so far from getting anything by his greedy design, that he dropped 
the piece he had in his mouth, which immediately sank to the bot- 
tom, and was irrecoverably lost. 

THE FOX AND THE GRAPES 

• A Fox, very hungry, chanced to come into a vineyard, where there 
hung branches of charming ripe grapes; but nailed up to a trellis so 
high that he leaped till he quite tired himself without being able 
to reach one of them. At last, 44 Let who will take them! ” says he; 
“ they are but green and sour; so I will even let them alone.” 

THE HARE AND THE TORTOISE 

A Hare laughed at a Tortoise upon account of his slowness, and 
vainly boasted her own great speed in running. 44 Let us make a 
match,” replied the Tortoise; 44 1 will run with you live miles for a 
wager, and the fox yonder shall be the umpire of the race.” The 
Hare agreed; and away they both started together. But the Hare, 
by reason of her exceeding swiftness, outran the Tortoise to such a 
degree, that she made a jest of the matter; and thinking herself sure 
of the race, squatted in a tuft of fern that grew by the way, and 
took a nap, thinking that, if the Tortoise went by, she could at 
any time overtake him with all the ease imaginable. In the mean- 
while the Tortoise came jogging on with slow but continued motion; 
and the Hare out of a too great security and confidence of victory, 
oversleeping herself, the Tortoise arrived at the end of the race 
first. 


85 


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Types of Children s Literature 

THE SHEPHERD’S BOY 

A certain Shepherd’s Boy kept his sheep upon a common, and in 
sport and wantonness would often cry out, “The wolf! the wolf! ” 
By this means he several times drew the husbandmen in an adjoin- 
ing field from their work; who, finding themselves deluded, re- 
solved for the future to take no notice of his alarm. Soon after, the 
wolf came indeed. The Boy cried out in earnest; but no heed being 
given to his cries, the sheep were devoured by the wolf. 

THE HUSBANDMAN AND THE STORK 

The Husbandman set a net in his fields to take the cranes and geese 
which came to feed upon the new-sown barley. He succeeded in 
taking several, both cranes and geese, and among them a Stork, 
who pleaded hard for his life, and, among other apologies which 
he made, alleged that he was neither goose nor crane, but a poor 
harmless Stork, who performed his duty to his parents to all intents 
and purposes, feeding them when they were old, and, as occasion 
required, carrying them from place to place upon his back. “ All 
this may be true,” replied the Husbandman ; “ but, as I have taken 
you in bad company, and in the same crime, you must expect to 
suffer the same punishment.” 

THE WIND AND THE SUN 

A dispute once arose betwixt the North Wind and the Sun about 
the superiority of their power; and they agreed to try their strength 
upon a traveler, which should be able to get his cloak off first. The 
North Wind began, and blew a very cold blast, accompanied with 
a sharp, driving shower. But this, and whatever else he could do, 
instead of making the man quit his cloak, obliged him to gird it 
about his body as close as possible. Next came the Sun; who, break- 
ing out from a thick watery cloud, drove away the cold vapors from 
the sky, and darted his warm, sultry beams upon the head of the 
poor weather-beaten traveler. The man growing faint with the 
heat, and unable to endure it any longer, first throws off his heavy 
cloak, and then flies for protection to the shade of a neighboring 
grove. 


Fables 

IStDpai 

THE TORTOISE AND THE GEESE 


87 


A Tortoise and two Geese lived together in a pond for many years. 
At last there came a drought and dried up the pond. Then the 
Geese said to one another, — 

“ We must seek a new home quickly, for we cannot live without 
water. Let us say farewell to the Tortoise and start at once.” 

When the Tortoise heard that they were going, he trembled with 
fear, and besought them by their friendship not to desert him. 

“ Alas,” the Geese replied, “ there is no help for it. If we stay 
here, we shall all three die, and we cannot take you with us, for you 
cannot fly.” 

Still the Tortoise begged so hard not to be left behind that the 
Geese finally said, — 

“ Dear Friend, if you will promise not to speak a word on 
the journey, we will take you with us. But know beforehand, that 
if you open your mouth to say one single word, you will be in instant 
danger of losing your life.” 

“ Have no fear,” replied the Tortoise, “ but that I shall be silent 
until you give me leave to speak again. I would rather never open 
my mouth again than be left to die alone here in the dried-up pond.” 

So the Geese brought a stout stick and bade the Tortoise grasp it 
firmly in the middle by his mouth. Then they took hold of either 
end and flew off with him. They had gone several miles in safety, 
when their course lay over a village. As the country people saw this 
curious sight of a Tortoise being carried by two Geese, they began 
to laugh and cry out, — 

“ Oh, did you ever see such a funny sight in all your life! ” And 
they laughed loud and long. 

The Tortoise grew more and more indignant. At last he could 
stand their jeering no longer. “You stupid . . .” he snapped, but 
before he could say more he had fallen to the ground and was 
dashed to pieces. 

1 This and the following fable are from The Tortoise and the Geese, and 
Other Fables of Bidpai , retold by Maude Barrows Dutton. Copyright, 1908, 
by Houghton Mifflin Company. Used by permission of the publishers. 


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Types of Children s Literature 

THE PARTRIDGE AND THE CROW 

A Crow flying across a road saw a Partridge strutting along the 
ground. 

“ What a beautiful gait that Partridge has! ” said the Crow. “ I 
must try to see if I can walk like him.” 

She alighted behind the Partridge and tried for a long time to 
learn to strut. At last the Partridge turned around and asked the 
Crow what she was about. 

“ Do not be angry with me,” replied the Crow. “ I have never 
before seen a bird who walks as beautifully as you can, and I am 
trying to learn to walk like you.” 

“ Foolish bird! ” responded the Partridge. “ You are a Crow, and 
should walk like a Crow. You would look silly indeed if you were 
to strut like a Partridge.” 

But the Crow went on trying to learn to strut, until finally she 
had forgotten her own gait, and she never learned that of the Part- 
ridge. 


Fables 

3[eait oe Ha jFontaiitc 

THE FOX AND THE GRAPES 


89 


A fox, almost with hunger dying, 

Some grapes upon a trellis spying, 

To all appearance ripe, clad in 
Their tempting russet skin, 

Most gladly would have eat them; 

But since he could not get them, 

So far above his reach the vine, — 

“ They’re sour,” he said; “ such grapes as these 
The dogs may eat them if they please.” 

— Did he not better than to whine? 

THE WOLF AND THE STORK 

The wolves are prone to play the glutton. 

One, at a certain feast, ’tis said, 

So stuffed himself with lamb and mutton, 

He seemed but little short of dead. 

Deep in his throat a bone stuck fast. 

Well for this wolf, who could not speak, 
That soon a stork quite near him passed. 

By signs invited, with her beak 
The bone she drew 
With slight ado, 

And for this skillful surgery 
Demanded, modestly, her fee. 

“Your fee! ” replied the wolf, 

In accents rather gruff; 

“ And is it not enough 

Your neck is safe from such a gulf? 

Go, for a wretch ingrate, 

Nor tempt again your fate! ” 











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FAIRY STORIES AND NURSERY TALES 

Craditional 

THE OLD WOMAN AND HER PIG 
Joseph Jacobs 

An old woman was sweeping her house, and she found a little 
crooked sixpence. “ What,” said she, “ shall I do with this little 
sixpence? I will go to market, and buy a little pig.” 

As she was coming home, she came to a stile: but the piggy 
wouldn’t go over the stile. 

She went a little further, and she met a dog. So she said to him: 
“Dog! dog! bite pig; piggy won’t go over the stile; and I shan’t 
get home tonight.” But the dog wouldn’t. 

She went a little further, and she met a stick. So she said: 
“Stick! stick! beat dog! dog won’t bite pig; piggy won’t get 
over the stile; and I shan’t get home tonight.” But the stick 
wouldn’t. 

She went a little further, and she met a fire. So she said: 
“Fire! fire! burn stick; stick won’t beat dog; dog won’t bite pig; 
piggy won’t get over the stile; and I shan’t get home tonight.” But 
the fire wouldn’t. 

She went a little further, and she met some water* So she said: 
“Water! water! quench fire; fire won’t burn stick; stick won’t 
beat dog; dog won’t bite pig; piggy won’t get over the stile; and 
I shan’t get home tonight.” But the water wouldn’t. 

She went a little further, and she met an ox. So she said: “ Ox! 
ox! drink water; water won’t quench fire; fire won’t burn stick; 
stick won’t beat dog; dog won’t bite pig; piggy won’t get over the 
stile; and I shan’t get home tonight.” But the ox wouldn’t. 

She went a little further, and she met a butcher. So she said: 
“Butcher! butcher! kill ox; ox won’t drink water; water won’t 
quench fire; fire won’t burn stick; stick won’t beat dog; dog won’t 
bite pig; piggy won’t get over the stile; and I shan’t get home 
tonight.” But the butcher wouldn’t. 

She went a little further, and she met a rope. So she said: 
“Rope! rope! hang butcher; butcher won’t kill ox; ox won’t drink 
water; water won’t quench fire; fire won’t burn stick; stick won’t 

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beat dog; dog won’t bite pig; piggy won’t get over the stile; and I 
shan’t get home tonight.” But the rope wouldn’t. 

She went a little further, and she met a rat. So she said : 44 Rat ! 

rat! gnaw rope; rope won’t hang butcher; butcher won’t kill ox; 
ox won’t drink water; water won’t quench fire; fire won’t burn 
stick; stick won’t beat dog; dog won’t bite pig; piggy won’t get over 
the stile; and I shan’t get home tonight.” But the rat wouldn’t. 

She went a little further, and she met a cat. So she said: 
44 Cat! cat! kill rat; rat won’t gnaw rope; rope won’t hang butcher; 
butcher won’t kill ox; ox won’t drink water; water won’t quench 
fire; fire won’t burn stick; stick won’t beat dog; dog won’t bite 
pig; piggy won’t get over the stile; and I shan’t get home to- 
night.” But the cat said to her, 44 If you will go to yonder cow and 
fetch me a saucer of milk, I will kill the rat.” So away went the 
old woman to the cow. 

But the cow said to her : 44 If you will go to yonder haystack 

and fetch me a handful of hay, I’ll give you the milk.” So away 
went the old woman to the haystack; and she brought the hay to the 
cow. 

As soon as the cow had eaten the hay, she gave the old woman 
the milk; and away she went with it in a saucer to the cat. 

As soon as the cat had lapped up the milk, the cat began to kill 
the rat; the rat began to gnaw the rope; the rope began to hang 
the butcher; the butcher began to kill the ox; the ox began to drink 
the water ; the water began to quench the fire ; the fire began to burn 
the stick; the stick began to beat the dog; the dog began to bite the 
pig; the little pig in fright jumped over the stile; and so the old 
woman got home that night. 

THE STORY OF THE THREE LITTLE PIGS 
Joseph Jacobs 

There was once an old sow with three little pigs, and as she 
had not enough to keep them, she sent them out to seek their 
fortune. The first that went off met a man with a bundle of straw, 
and said to him: 

44 Please, man, give me that straw to build me a house.” 

Which the man did, and the little pig built a house with it. 
Presently came along a wolf, and knocked at the door, and said: 

44 Little pig, little pig, let me come in.” 


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To which the pig answered: 

“ No, no, by the hair of my chiny chin chin.” 

The wolf then answered to that: 

“ Then I'll huff, and I’ll puff, and I’ll blow your house in.” 

So he huffed, and he puffed, and he blew his house in, and ate up 
the little pig. 

The second little pig met a man with a bundle of furze, and said: 

“ Please, man, give me that furze to build a house.” 

Which the man did, and the pig built his house. Then along came 
the wolf, and said: 

“ Little pig, little pig, let me come in.” 

“ No, no, by the hair of my chiny chin chin.” 

“ Then I’ll huff, and I’ll puff, and I’ll blow your house in.” 

So he huffed, and he puffed, and he puffed, and he huffed, and at 
last he blew the house in, and he ate up the little pig. 

The third little pig met a man with a load of bricks, and said: 

“ Please, man, give me those bricks to build a house with.” 

So the man gave him the bricks, and he built his house with 
them. So the wolf came, as he did to the other little pigs, and said : 

“ Little pig, little pig, let me come in.” 

“ No, no, by the hair of my chiny chin chin.” 

“ Then I’ll huff, and I’ll puff, and I’ll blow your house in.” 

Well, he huffed, and he puffed, and he huffed, and he puffed, 
and he puffed and huffed; but he could not get the house down. 
When he found that he could not, with all his huffing and puffing, 
blow the house down, he said: 

“ Little pig, I know where there is a nice field of turnips.” 

“ Where? ” said the little pig. 

“ Oh, in Mr. Smith’s Home-field, and if you will be ready to- 
morrow morning, I will call for you, and we will go together and 
get some for dinner.” 

“ Very well,” said the little pig, “ I will be ready. What time 
do you mean to go? ” 

“ Oh, at six o’clock.” 

Well, the little pig got up at five, and got the turnips before the 
wolf came (which he did about six), who said: 

“ Little pig, are you ready? ” 

The little pig said: “ Ready? I have been and come back again, 
and got a nice potful for dinner.” 

The wolf felt very angry at this, but thought that he would be 
up to the little pig somehow or other, so he said: 


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44 Little pig, I know where there is a nice apple tree.” 

44 Where? ” said the pig. 

44 Down at Merry-garden,” replied the wolf, 44 and if you will 
not deceive me, I will come for you at five o’clock tomorrow and 
get some apples.” 

Well, the little pig bustled up the next morning at four o’clock, 
and went for the apples, hoping to get back before the wolf came; 
but he had further to go, and had to climb the tree, so that just as 
he was coming down from it, he saw the wolf coming, which, as you 
may suppose, frightened him very much. When the wolf came up, 
he said: 

44 Little pig, what! are you here before me? Are they nice 
apples? ” 

44 Yes, very,” said the little pig. 44 1 will throw you down 
one.” 

And he threw it so far, that, while the wolf was gone to pick it 
up, the little pig jumped down and ran home. The next day the 
wolf came again, and said to the little pig: 

44 Little pig, there is a fair at Shanklin this afternoon. Will you 

go? ” 

44 Oh, yes,” said the pig, 44 1 will go; what time shall you be 
ready ? ” 

44 At three,” said the wolf. So the little pig went off before the 
time as usual, and got to the fair, and bought a butter churn, which 
he was going home with when he saw the wolf coming. Then he 
could not tell what to do. So he got into the churn to hide, and by 
so doing turned it round, and it rolled down the hill with the pig in 
it, which frightened the wolf so much that he ran home without 
going to the fair. He went to the little pig’s house, and told him 
how frightened he had been by a great round thing which came down 
the hill past him. Then the little pig said : 

44 Hah, I frightened you, then. I had been to the fair and bought 
a butter churn, and when I saw you, I got into it and rolled down 
the hill.” 

Then the wolf was very angry indeed, and declared he would eat 
up the little pig, and that he would get down the chimney after 
him. When the little pig saw what he was about, he hung on the 
pot full of water and made up a blazing fire, and, just as the wolf 
was coming down, took off the cover, and in fell the wolf; so the 
little pig put on the cover again in an instant, boiled him up, and 
ate him for supper, and lived happy ever afterwards. 


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HANS IN LUCK 
Jacob and Wilhelm Grimm 

Hans had served his master seven years, and at last said to him, 
“Master, my time is up; I should like to go home and see my 
mother; so give me my wages.” And the master said, “You have 
been a faithful and good servant, so your pay shall be handsome.” 
Then he gave him a piece of silver that was as big as his head. 

Hans took out his pocket handkerchief, put the piece of silver 
into it, threw it over his shoulder, and jogged off homewards. As 
he went lazily on, dragging one foot after the other, a man came in 
sight, trotting along gayly on a capital horse. “Ah! ” cried Hans 
aloud, “what a fine thing it is to ride on horseback! he trips 
against no stones, spares his shoes, and yet gets on he hardly knows 
how.” The horseman heard this, and said, “Well, Hans, why do 
you go on foot, then? ” “ Ah! ” said he, “ I have this load to carry; 

to be sure it is silver, but it is so heavy that I can’t hold up my 
head, and it hurts my shoulders sadly.” “ What do you say to 
changing? ” said the horseman; “ I will give you my horse, and you 
shall give me the silver.” “With all my heart,” said Hans; “but 
I tell you one thing, — you’ll have a weary task to drag it along.” 
The horseman got off, took the silver, helped Hans up, gave him the 
bridle into his hand, and said, “ When you want to go very fast, 
you must smack your lips loud, and cry ‘ Jip.’ ” 

Hans was delighted as he sat on the horse, and rode merrily on. 
After a time he thought he should like to go a little faster, so he 
smacked his lips and cried, “ Jip.” Away went the horse full gal- 
lop; and before Hans knew what he was about, he was thrown off, 
and lay in a ditch by the roadside; and his horse would have run 
off, if a shepherd who was coming by, driving a cow, had not stopped 
it. Hans soon came to himself, and got upon his legs again. He 
was sadly vexed, and said to the shepherd, “ This riding is no joke 
when a man gets on a beast like this, that stumbles and flings him 
off as if he would break his neck. However, I am off now once for 
all; I like your cow a great deal better; one can walk along at one’s 
leisure behind her, and have milk, butter, and cheese every day into 
the bargain. What would I give to have such a cow! ” “Well,” 
said the shepherd, “ if you are so fond of her, I will change my 
cow for your horse.” “ Done ! ” said Hans merrily. The shepherd 
jumped upon the horse, and away he rode. 


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Hans drove off his cow quietly, and thought his bargain a very 
lucky one. “ If I have only a piece of bread, I can, whenever I 
like, eat my butter and cheese with it; and when I am thirsty, I can 
milk my cow and drink the milk: what can I wish for more? ” 
When he came to an inn, he halted, ate up all his bread, and gave his 
last penny for a glass of beer: then he drove his cow towards his 
mother’s village; and the heat grew greater as noon came on, till 
he began to be so hot and parched that his tongue clave to the roof 
of his mouth. 44 I can find a cure for this,” thought he; 44 now will 
I milk my cow and quench my thirst; ” so he tied her to the stump 
of a tree, and held his leather cap to milk into; but not a drop was 
to be had. 

While he was trying his luck and managing the matter very clum- 
sily, the uneasy beast gave him a kick on the head that knocked him 
down, and there he lay a long while senseless. Luckily a butcher 
soon came by, wheeling a pig in a wheelbarrow. 44 What is the mat- 
ter with you? ” said the butcher, as he helped him up. Hans told 
him what had happened, and the butcher gave him a flask, saying, 
44 There, drink and refresh yourself; your cow will give you no 
milk, she is an old beast good for nothing but the slaughterhouse.” 
44 Alas, alas! ” said Hans, 44 who would have thought it? If I kill 
her, what would she be good for? I hate cow beef, it is not tender 
enough for me. If it were a pig now, one could do something 
with it; it would, at any rate, make some sausages.” 44 Well,” said 
the butcher, 4k to please you I’ll change, and give you the pig for 
the cow.” 44 Heaven reward you for your kindness ! ” said Hans, as 
he gave the butcher the cow, and took the pig off the wheelbarrow, 
and drove it off, holding it by the string that was tied to its leg. 

So on he jogged, and all seemed now to go right with him. The 
next person he met was a countryman, carrying a fine white goose 
under his arm. The countryman stopped to ask what o’clock it was; 
and Hans told him all his luck, and how he had made so many 
good bargains. The countryman said he was going to take the 
goose to a christening. “ Feel,” said he, 44 how heavy it is, and yet 
it is only eight weeks old. Whoever roasts and eats it, may cut 
plenty of fat off it, it has lived so well ! ” 44 You’re right,” said 
Hans, as he weighed it in his hand ; 44 but my pig is no trifle.” Mean- 
time the countryman began to look grave, and shook his head. 

Hark ye, said he, 44 my good friend; your pig may get you into a 
scrape; in the village I have just come from, the squire has had a 
pig stolen out of his sty. I was dreadfully afraid, when I saw you, 


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that you had got the squire’s pig; it will be a bad job if they 
catch you; the least they’ll do will be to throw you into the horse 
pond.” 

Poor Hans was sadly frightened. “ Good man,” cried he, “ pray 
get me out of this scrape; you know this country better than I; take 
my pig and give me the goose.” “ I ought to have something into 
the bargain,” said the countryman ; “ however, I will not bear hard 
upon you, as you are in trouble.” Then he took the string in his 
hand, and drove off the pig by a side path; while Hans went on 
the way homewards free from care. 

As he came to the last village, he saw a scissors grinder, with 
his wheel, working away, and singing. Hans stood looking for a 
while, and at last said, “ You must be well off, master grinder, you 
seem so happy at your work.” “ Yes,” said the other, “ mine is a 
golden trade; a good grinder never puts his hand in his pocket 
without finding money in it: — but where did you get that beau- 
tiful goose? ” “ I did not buy it, but changed a pig for it.” “ And 

where did you get the pig? ” “ I gave a cow for it.” “ And the 

cow? ” “ I gave a horse for it.” “And the horse? ” “ I gave a 

piece of silver as big as my head for that.” “And the silver? ” 
“ Oh, I worked hard for that seven long years.” “ You have thriven 
well in the world hitherto,” said the grinder; “ now if you could find 
money in your pocket whenever you put your hand into it, your 
fortune would be made.” “Very true: but how is that to be man- 
aged? ” “You must turn grinder like me,” said the other: “you 
only want a grindstone; the rest will come of itself. Here is one that 
is a little the worse for wear: I would not ask more than the value of 
your goose for it; — will you buy? ” “How can you ask such a 
question? ” replied Hans; “I should be the happiest man in the 
w r orld if I could have money whenever I put my hand in my 
pocket; what could I want more? there’s the goose! ” “ Now,” said 

the grinder, as he gave him a rough stone that lay by his side, 
“this is a most capital stone; do but manage it cleverly, and you 
can make an old nail cut with it.” 

Hans took the stone and went off with a light heart; his eyes 
sparkled for joy, and he said to himself, “ I must have been born in 
a lucky hour; everything that I want or wish for comes to me of 
itself.” 

Meantime he began to be tired, for he had been traveling ever 
since daybreak; he was hungry, too, for he had given away his 
last penny in his joy at getting the cow. At last he could go no 


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further, and the stone tired him terribly; he dragged himself to the 
side of a pond, that he might drink some water and rest awhile; so he 
laid the stone carefully by his side on the bank: but as he stooped 
down to drink, he forgot it, pushed it a little, and down it went 
plump into the pond. For a while he watched it sinking in the deep, 
clear water, then sprang up for joy, and again fell upon his knees, 
and thanked heaven with tears in his eyes for its kindness in taking 
away his only plague, the ugly heavy stone. “ How happy am I,” 
cried he: “no mortal was ever so lucky as I am.” Then up he got 
with a light and merry heart, and walked on free from all his 
troubles, till he reached his mother’s house. 

THE VALIANT LITTLE TAILOR 
Jacob and Wilhelm Grimm 

One summer’s morning a little tailor was sitting on his table by 
the window; he was in good spirits, and sewed with all his might. 
Then came a peasant woman down the street, crying, “ Good jams, 
cheap! Good jams, cheap! ” This rang pleasantly in the tailor’s 
ears; he stretched his delicate head out of the window, and called, 
“ Come up here, dear woman; here you will get rid of your goods.” 
The woman came up the three steps to the tailor with her heavy 
basket, and he made her unpack the whole of the pots for him. He 
inspected all of them, lifted them up, put his nose to them, and at 
length said, “ The jam seems to me to be good, so weigh me out 
four ounces, dear woman, and if it is a quarter of a pound that is 
of no consequence.” The woman, who had hoped to find a good 
sale, gave him what he desired, but went away quite angry and 
grumbling. “Now God bless the jam to my use,” cried the little 
tailor, “ and give me health and strength; ” so he brought the bread 
out of the cupboard, cut himself a piece right across the loaf and 
spread the jam over it. “ That won’t taste bitter,” said he, “ but I 
will just finish the jacket before I take a bite.” He laid the bread 
near him, sewed on, and, in his joy, made bigger and bigger stitches. 

In the meantime the smell of the sweet jam ascended so to the 
wall, where the flies were sitting in great numbers, that they were 
attracted and descended on it in hosts. “ Hola! who invited you? ” 
said the little tailor, and drove the unbidden guests away. The 
flies, however, who understood no German, would not be turned 
away, but came back again in ever increasing companies. 


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Then the little tailor lost all patience, and got a bit of cloth from 
the hole under his work table, and saying, “ Wait, and I will give it 
to you,” struck it mercilessly on them. When he drew it away 
and counted, there lay before him no fewer than seven, dead and 
with legs stretched out. 

44 Art thou a fellow of that sort? ” said he, and could not help 
admiring his own bravery. 44 The whole town shall know of this! ” 
And the little tailor hastened to cut himself a girdle, stitched it, and 
embroidered on it in large letters, 44 Seven at one stroke ! ” 44 What, 

the town! ” he continued, 44 the whole world shall hear of it! ” and 
his heart wagged with joy like a lamb’s tail. The tailor put on 
the girdle, and resolved to go forth into the world, because he 
thought his workshop was too small for his valor. 

Before he went away, he sought about in the house to see if there 
was anything which he could take with him; however, he found 
nothing but an old cheese, and that he put in his pocket. In front 
of the door he observed a bird which had caught itself in the thicket. 
It had to go into his pocket with the cheese. 

Now he took to the road boldly, and as he was light and nimble, 
he felt no fatigue. The road led him up a mountain, and when he 
had reached the highest point of it, there sat a powerful giant look- 
ing about him quite comfortably. 

The little tailor went bravely up, spoke to him, and said, 44 Good 
day, comrade, so thou art sitting there overlooking the wide-spread 
world! I am just on my way thither, and want to try my luck. 
Hast thou any inclination to go with me? ” The giant looked con- 
temptuously at the tailor, and said, “Thou ragamuffin! Thou mis- 
erable creature ! ” 

44 Oh, indeed? ” answered the little tailor, and unbuttoned his coat 
and showed the giant the girdle. 44 There mayst thou read what 
kind of a man I am ! ” The giant read, 44 Seven at one stroke ! ” and 
thought that they had been men whom the tailor had killed, and 
began to feel a little respect for the tiny fellow. Nevertheless he 
wished to try him first, and took a stone in his hand and squeezed 
it together so that the water dropped out of it. 44 Do that like- 
wise,” said the giant, 44 if thou hast strength.” 44 Is that all?” 
said the tailor, 44 that is child’s play with us! ” and put his hand into 
his pocket, brought out the soft cheese, and pressed it until the 
liquid ran out of it. 44 Faith,” said he, 44 that was a little better, 
wasn’t it? ” 

The giant did not know what to say and could not believe it of the 


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little man. Then the giant picked up a stone and threw it so high 
that the eye could scarcely follow it. “ Now, little mite of a man, 
do that likewise.” “ Well thrown,” said the tailor, “ but after all 
the stone came down to earth again; I will throw you one which shall 
never come back at all,” and he put his hand into his pocket, took 
out the bird, and threw it into the air. The bird, delighted with its 
liberty, rose, flew away, and did not come back. “ How does that 
shot please you, comrade? ” asked the tailor. 

“ Thou canst certainly throw,” said the giant, “ but now we will 
see if thou art able to carry anything properly.” He took the little 
tailor to a mighty oak tree which lay there felled to the ground, 
and said, “ If thou art strong enough, help me to carry the tree 
out of the forest.” “ Readily,” answered the little man ; “ take thou 
the trunk on thy shoulders, and I will raise up the branches and 
twigs; after all, they are the heaviest.” The giant took the trunk on 
his shoulder, but the tailor seated himself on a branch, and the 
giant, who could not look round, had to carry away the whole tree 
and the little tailor into the bargain. He, behind, was quite merry 
and happy and whistled the song, “ Three tailors rode forth from the 
gate,” as if carrying the tree were child’s play. The giant, after 
he had dragged the heavy burden part of the way, could go no 
further, and cried, “ Hark you, I shall have to let the tree fall ! ” 
The tailor sprang nimbly down, seized the tree with both arms as if 
he had been carrying it, and said to the giant, “ Thou art such a 
great fellow, and yet thou canst not even carry the tree! ” 

They went on together; and as they passed a cherry tree, the 
giant laid hold of the top of the tree where the ripest fruit was 
hanging, bent it down, gave it into the tailor’s hand, and bade him 
eat. But the little tailor was much too weak to hold the tree; 
and when the giant let it go, it sprang back again, and the tailor 
was hurried into the air with it. When he had fallen down again 
without injury, the giant said, “What is this? Hast thou not 
strength enough to hold the weak twig? ” “There is no lack of 
strength,” answered the little tailor. “ Dost thou think that could 
be anything to a man who has struck down seven at one blow? 
I leapt over the tree because the huntsmen are shooting down there 
in the thicket. Jump as I did, if thou canst do it.” The giant 
made the attempt, but could not get over the tree, and remained 
hanging in the branches, so that in this also the tailor kept the 
upper hand. 

The giant said, “ If thou art such a valiant fellow, come with me 


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into our cavern and spend the night with us.” The little tailor was 
willing, and followed him. When they went into the cave, other 
giants were sitting there by the fire, and each of them had a roasted 
sheep in his hand and was eating it. The little tailor looked round 
and thought, “ It is much more spacious here than in my work- 
shop.” The giant showed him a bed and said he was to lie down 
in it and sleep. The bed was, however, too big for the little tailor; 
he did not lie down in it but crept into a corner. When it was mid- 
night, and the giant thought the little tailor was lying in a sound 
sleep, he got up, took a great iron bar, cut through the bed with one 
blow, and thought he had given the grasshopper his finishing stroke. 
With the earliest dawn the giants went into the forest, and had 
quite forgotten the little tailor, when all at once he walked up to them 
quite merrily and boldly. The giants were terrified; they were 
afraid that he would strike them all dead, and ran away in a great 
hurry. 

The little tailor went onwards, always following his own pointed 
nose. After he had walked for a long time, he came to the court- 
yard of a royal palace, and as he felt weary he lay down on the grass 
and fell asleep. Whilst he lay there, the people came and inspected 
him on all sides, and read on his girdle, “Seven at one stroke! ” 
“ Ah ! ” said they, “ what does a great warrior here in the midst 
of peace? He must be a mighty lord.” They went and announced 
him to the King, and gave it as their opinion that if war should 
break out, this would be a weighty and useful man, who ought on no 
account to be allowed to depart. The counsel pleased the King, and 
he sent one of his courtiers to the little tailor to offer him military 
service when he awoke. The ambassador remained standing by the 
sleeper, waited until he stretched his limbs and opened his eyes, 
and then conveyed to him this proposal. “ For this very reason have 
I come here,” the tailor replied; “I am ready to enter the King’s 
service.” He was therefore honorably received, and a separate 
dwelling was assigned to him. 

The soldiers, however, were set against the little tailor, and wished 
him a thousand miles away. “ What is to be the end of this? ” they 
said amongst themselves. “ If we quarrel with him and he strikes 
about him, seven of us will fall at every blow; not one of us can 
stand against him.” They came therefore to a decision, betook 
themselves in a body to the King, and begged for their dismissal. 
“ We are not prepared,” said they, “ to stay with a man who kills 
seven at one stroke.” The King was sorry that for the sake of one he 


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should lose all his faithful servants, wished that he had never set eyes 
on the tailor, and would willingly have been rid of him again. But 
he did not venture to give him his dismissal, for he dreaded lest he 
should strike him and all his people dead and place himself on the 
royal throne. He thought about it for a long time and at last found 
good counsel. He sent to the little tailor and caused him to be in- 
formed that as he was such a great warrior, he had one request to 
make to him. In a forest of his country lived two giants, who caused 
great mischief with their robbing, murdering, ravaging, and burn- 
ing, and no one could approach them without putting himself in dan- 
ger of death. If the tailor conquered and killed these two giants, 
he would give him his only daughter to wife and half his king- 
dom as a dowry, likewise one hundred horsemen should go with 
him to assist him. “ That would indeed be a fine thing for a man 
like me! ” thought the little tailor. “ One is not offered a beautiful 
princess and half a kingdom every day of one’s life! ” “ Oh, yes,” 

he replied, “ I will soon subdue the giants, and do not require the 
hfelp of the hundred horsemen to do it; he who can hit seven with 
one blow has no need to be afraid of two.” 

The little tailor went forth, and the hundred horsemen followed 
him. When he came to the outskirts of the forest, he said to his 
followers, “ Just stay waiting here, I alone will soon finish off the 
giants.” Then he bounded into the forest and looked about right 
and left. After a while he perceived both giants. They lay sleep- 
ing under a tree and snored so that the branches waved up and 
down. The little tailor, not idle, gathered two pocketfuls of stones 
and with these climbed up a tree. When he was halfway up, he 
slipped down by a branch until he sat just above the sleepers, and 
then let one stone after another fall on the breast of one of the 
giants. For a long time the giant felt nothing, but at last he awoke, 
pushed his comrade, and said, “ Why art thou knocking me? ” 
“Thou must be dreaming,” said the other; “I am not knocking 
thee.” They laid themselves down to sleep again, and then the 
tailor threw a stone down on the second. “ What is the meaning of 
this? ” cried the other. “ Why art thou pelting me? ” “ I am not 

pelting thee,” answered the first, growling. They disputed about 
it for a time, but as they were weary they let the matter rest, and 
their eyes closed once more. The little tailor began his game again, 
picked out the biggest stone, and threw it with all his might on the 
breast of the first giant. “That is too bad! ” cried he, and sprang 
up like a madman, and pushed his companion against the tree until 


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it shook. The other paid him back in the same coin, and they got 
into such a rage that they tore up trees and belabored each other so 
long that at last they both fell down dead on the ground at the 
same time. Then the little tailor leapt down. “ It is a lucky 
thing, said he, 44 that they did not tear up the tree on which I was 
sitting, or I should have had to spring on to another like a squirrel ; 
but we tailors are nimble.” He drew out his sword and gave each of 
them a couple of thrusts in the breast, and then went out to the 
horsemen and said, k4 The work is done ; I have given them both their 
finishing stroke, but it was hard work! They tore up trees in 
their sore need, and defended themselves with them, but all that is 
to no purpose when a man like myself comes, who can kill seven 
at one blow.” 44 But are you not wounded? ” asked the horsemen. 
44 You need not concern yourself about that,” answered the tailor. 
44 They have not bent one hair of mine.” The horsemen would not 
believe him, and rode into the forest; there they found the giants 
swimming in their blood, and all round about lay the torn-up 
trees. 

The little tailor demanded of the King the promised reward; he, 
however, repented of his promise, and again bethought himself 
how he could get rid of the hero. 44 Before thou receivest my daugh- 
ter and the half of my kingdom,” said he to him, 44 thou must per- 
form one more heroic deed. In the forest roams a unicorn which 
does great harm, and thou must catch it first.” 44 1 fear one unicorn 
still less than two giants. Seven at one blow is my kind of affair.” 
He took a rope and an ax with him, went forth into the forest, and 
again bade those who went with him to wait outside. He had not to 
seek long. The unicorn soon came towards him and rushed directly 
on the tailor, as if it would spit him on its horn without more 
ceremony. 44 Softly, softly; it can’t be done as quickly as that,” 
said he, and stood still and waited until the animal was quite close, 
and then sprang nimbly behind the tree. The unicorn ran against 
the tree with all its strength, and struck its horn so fast in the 
trunk that it had not strength enough to draw it out again, and 
thus it was caught. 44 Now I have got the bird,” said the tailor, and 
came out from behind the tree and put the rope round its neck, and 
then with his ax he hewed the horn out of the tree, and when all 
was ready he led the beast away and took it to the King. 

The King still would not give him the promised reward, and made 
a third demand. Before the wedding the tailor was to catch him a 
wild boar that made great havoc in the forest, and the hunts- 


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Types of Childrens Literature 

men should give him their help. “ Willingly,” said the tailor, “ that 
is child’s play! ” He did not take the huntsmen with him into the 
forest, and they were well pleased that he did not, for the wild boar 
had several times received them in such a manner that they had 
no inclination to lie in wait for him. When the boar perceived the 
tailor, it ran on him with foaming mouth and whetted tusks, and 
was about to throw him to the ground, but the active hero sprang into 
a chapel, which was near, and up to the window at once, and in one 
bound was out again. The boar ran in after him, but the tailor 
ran round outside and shut the door behind it, and then the raging 
beast, which was much too heavy and awkward to leap out of the 
window, was caught. The little tailor called the huntsmen thither, 
that they might see the prisoner with their own eyes. The hero, how- 
ever, went to’ the King, who was now, whether he liked it or not, 
obliged to keep his promise, and gave him his daughter and the half 
of his kingdom. Had he known that it was no warlike hero but a 
little tailor who was standing before him, it would have gone to his 
heart still more than it did. The wedding was held with great mag- 
nificence and small joy, and out of the tailor a king was made. 

After some time the young Queen heard her husband say in his 
dreams at night, “ Boy, make me the doublet and patch the panta- 
loons, or else I will rap the yard measure over thine ears.” Then 
she discovered in what state of life the young lord had been born, 
and next morning complained of her wrongs to her father, and 
begged him to help her to get rid of her husband, who was nothing 
else but a tailor. The King comforted her and said, “ Leave thy 
bedroom door open this night, and my servants shall stand outside, 
and when he has fallen asleep shall go in, bind him, and take him 
on board a ship which shall carry him into the wide world.” The 
woman was satisfied with this; but the King’s armor-bearer, who 
had heard all, was friendly with the young lord, and informed him of 
the whole plot. “ I’ll put a screw into that business,” said the little 
tailor. At night he went to bed with his wife at the usual time, and 
when she thought that he had fallen asleep, she got up, opened the 
door, and then lay down again. The little tailor, who was only pre- 
tending to be asleep, began to cry out in a clear voice, Boy, make me 
the doublet and patch me the pantaloons, or I will rap the yard meas- 
ure over thine ears. I smote seven at one blow, I killed two giants, 
I brought away one unicorn and caught a wild boar, and am I to 
fear those who are standing outside the room? ” When these men 
heard the tailor speaking thus, they were overcome with a great 


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Fairy Stories and Nursery Tales 

dread, and ran as if the wild huntsman were behind them, and none 
of them would venture anything further against him. So the little 
tailor was a king and remained one, to the end of his life. 

CINDERELLA, OR THE LITTLE GLASS SLIPPER 
Charles Perrault 

Once upon a time there was a gentleman who married, for his 
second wife, the proudest and most haughty woman that ever was 
seen. She had two daughters of her own, who were, indeed, exactly 
like her in all things. The gentleman had also a young daughter, of 
rare goodness and sweetness of temper, which she took from her 
mother, who was the best creature in the world. 

The wedding was scarcely over, when the stepmother’s bad temper 
began to show itself. She could not bear the goodness of this 
young girl, because it made her own daughters appear the more 
odious. The stepmother gave her the meanest work in the house 
to do; she had to scour the dishes, tables, etc., and to scrub the floors 
and clean out the bedrooms. The poor girl had to sleep in the 
garret, upon a wretched straw bed, while her sisters lay in fine 
rooms with inlaid floors, upon beds of the very newest fashion, and 
where they had looking-glasses so large that they might see them- 
selves at their full length. The poor girl bore all patiently, and 
dared not complain to her father, who would have scolded her if she 
had done so, for his wife governed him entirely. 

When she had done her work, she used to go into the chimney cor- 
ner, and sit down among the cinders; hence she was called Cinder- 
wench. The younger sister of the two, who was not so rude and 
uncivil as the elder, called her Cinderella. However, Cinderella, in 
spite of her mean apparel, was a hundred times more handsome than 
her sisters, though they were always richly dressed. 

It happened that the King’s son gave a ball, and invited to it 
all persons of fashion. Our young misses were also invited, for 
they cut a very grand figure among the people of the country- 
side. They were highly delighted with the invitation, and won- 
derfully busy in choosing the gowns, petticoats, and head-dresses 
which might best become them. This made Cinderella’s lot still 
harder, for it was she who ironed her sisters’ linen and plaited 
their ruffles. They talked all day long of nothing but how they 
should be dressed. 


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Types of Children s Literature 

“ For my part,” said the elder, “ I will wear my red velvet suit 
with French trimmings.” 

“ And I,” said the younger, “ shall wear my usual skirt; but then, 
to make amends for that, I will put on my gold-flowered mantle, and 
my diamond stomacher, which is far from being the most ordinary 
one in the world.” They sent for the best hairdressers they could 
get, to make up their hair in fashionable style, and bought patches 
for their cheeks. Cinderella was consulted in all these matters, 
for she had good taste. She advised them always for the best, 
and even offered her services to dress their hair, which they were 
very willing she should do. 

As she was doing this, they said to her: 

“ Cinderella, would you not be glad to go to the ball? ” 

“Young ladies,” she said, “you only jeer at me; it is not for 
such as I am to go there.” 

“You are right,” they replied; “people would laugh to see a 
Cinderwench at a ball.” 

Any one but Cinderella would have dressed their hair awry, but 
she was good-natured, and arranged it perfectly well. They were 
almost two days without eating, so much were they transported with 
joy. They broke above a dozen laces in trying to lace themselves 
tight, that they might have a fine, slender shape, and they were con- 
tinually at their looking-glass. 

At last the happy day came; they went to Court, and Cinderella 
followed them with her eyes as long as she could, and when she 
had lost sight of them, she fell a-crying. 

Her godmother, who saw her all in tears, asked her what was 
the matter. 

“ I wish I could — I wish I could — ” but she could not finish for 
sobbing. 

Her godmother, who was a fairy, said to her, “ You wish you 
could go to the ball; is it not so? ” 

“ Alas, yes,” said Cinderella, sighing. 

“ Well,” said her godmother, “ be but a good girl, and I will see 
that you go.” Then she took her into her chamber, and said to 
her, “ Run into the garden, and bring me a pumpkin.” 

Cinderella went at once to gather the finest she could get, and 
brought it to her godmother, not being able to imagine how this 
pumpkin could help her to go to the ball. Her godmother scooped 
out all the inside of it, leaving nothing but the rind. Then she 
struck it with her wand, and the pumpkin was instantly turned into 
a fine gilded coach. 


Fairy Stories and Nursery Tales 107 

She then went to look into the mousetrap, where she found six 
mice, all alive. She ordered Cinderella to lift the trapdoor, when, 
giving each mouse, as it went out, a little tap with her wand, it was 
that moment turned into a fine horse, and the six mice made a fine 
set of six horses of a beautiful mouse-colored, dapple gray. 

Being at a loss for a coachman, Cinderella said, “ I will go and 
see if there is not a rat in the rat-trap — we may make a coachman 
of him.” 

“ You are right,” replied her godmother; “go and look.” 

Cinderella brought the rat-trap to her, and in it there were three 
• huge rats. The fairy chose the one which had the largest beard, 
and, having touched him with her wand, he was turned into a fat 
coachman with the finest mustache and whiskers ever seen. 

After that, she said to her: 

“ Go into the garden, and you will find six lizards behind the 
watering pot; bring them to me.” 

She had no sooner done so than her godmother turned them into 
six footmen, who skipped up immediately behind the coach, with 
their liveries all trimmed with gold and silver, and they held on 
as if they had done nothing else their whole lives. 

The fairy then said to Cinderella, “ Well, you see here a carriage fit 
to go to the ball in; are you not pleased with it? ” 

“Oh, yes! ” she cried; “but must I go as I am in these rags? ” 

Her godmother simply touched her with her wand, and, at the 
same moment, her clothes were turned into cloth of gold and 
silver, all decked with jewels. This done, she gave her a pair of 
the prettiest glass slippers in the whole world. Being thus attired, 
she got into the carriage, her godmother commanding her, above all 
things, not to stay till after midnight, and telling her, at the same 
time, that if she stayed one moment longer, the coach would be a 
pumpkin again, her horses mice, her coachman a rat, her footmen 
lizards, and her clothes would become just as they were before. 

She promised her godmother she would not fail to leave the ball 
before midnight. She drove away, scarce able to contain herself 
for joy. The King’s son, who was told that a great princess, whom 
nobody knew, was come, ran out to receive her. He gave her his 
hand as she alighted from the coach, and led her into the hall where 
the company were assembled. There was at once a profound silence; 
every one left off dancing, and the violins ceased to play, so attracted 
was every one by the singular beauties of the unknown newcomer. 
Nothing was then heard but a confused sound of voices saying: 


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Types of Children s Literature 

“Ha! how beautiful she is! Ha! how beautiful she is! ” 

The King himself, old as he was, could not keep his eyes off her, 
and he told the Queen under his breath that it was a long time since 
he had seen so beautiful and lovely a creature. 

All the ladies were busy studying her clothes and head-dress, so 
that they might have theirs made next day after the same pattern, 
provided they could meet with such fine materials and able hands to 
make them. 

The King’s son conducted her to the seat of honor, and afterwards 
took her out to dance with him. She danced so very gracefully that 
they all admired her more and more. A fine collation was served, 
but the young Prince ate not a morsel, so intently was he occupied 
with her. 

She went and sat down beside her sisters, showing them a thousand 
civilities, and giving them among other things part of the oranges 
and citrons with which the Prince had regaled her. This very 
much surprised them, for they had not been presented to her. 

Cinderella heard the clock strike a quarter to twelve. She at 
once made her adieus to the company and hastened away as fast as 
she could. 

As soon as she got home, she ran to find her godmother, and 
after having thanked her, she said she much wished she might go 
to the ball the next day, because the King’s son had asked her to do 
so. As she was eagerly telling her godmother all that happened 
at the ball, her two sisters knocked at the door; Cinderella opened 
it. “ How long you have stayed ! ” said she, yawning, rubbing her 
eyes, and stretching herself as if she had been just awakened. She 
had not, however, had any desire to sleep since they went from 
home. 

“ If you had been at the ball,” said one of her sisters, “ you 
would not have been tired with it. There came thither the finest 
princess, the most beautiful ever was seen with mortal eyes. She 
showed us a thousand civilities, and gave us oranges and citrons.” 

Cinderella did not show any pleasure at this. Indeed, she asked 
them the name of the princess; but they told her they did not know 
it, and that the King’s son was very much concerned, and would 
give all the world to know who she was. At this Cinderella, smiling, 
replied : 

“ Was she then so very beautiful? How fortunate you have been! 
Could I not see her? Ah! dear Miss Charlotte, do lend me your 
yellow suit of clothes which you wear every day.” 


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Fairy Stories and Nursery Tales 

“Ay, to be sure! ” cried Miss Charlotte; “lend my clothes to 
such a dirty Cinderwench as thou art! I should be out of my 
mind to do so.” 

Cinderella, indeed, expected such an answer and was very glad 
of the refusal; for she would have been sadly troubled if her sister 
had lent her what she jestingly asked for. The next day the two 
sisters went to the ball, and so did Cinderella, but dressed more 
magnificently than before. The King’s son was always by her 
side, and his pretty speeches to her never ceased. These by no 
means annoyed the young lady. Indeed, she quite forgot her god- 
mother’s orders to her, so that she heard the clock begin to strike 
twelve when she thought it could not be more than eleven. She 
then rose up and fled, as nimble as a deer. The Prince followed, but 
could not overtake her. She left behind one of her glass slipppers, 
which the Prince took up most carefully. She got home, but quite 
out of breath, without her carriage, and in her old clothes, having 
nothing left her of all her finery but one of the little slippers, fellow 
to the one she had dropped. The guards at the palace gate were 
asked if they had not seen a princess go out, and they replied they 
had seen nobody go out but a young girl, very meanly dressed, and 
who had more the air of a poor country girl than of a young lady. 

When the two sisters returned from the ball, Cinderella asked them 
if they had a pleasant time, and if the fine lady had been there. 
They told her, yes; but that she hurried away the moment it struck 
twelve, and with so much haste that she dropped one of her little 
glass slippers, the prettiest in the world, which the King’s son had 
taken up. They said, further, that he had done nothing but look 
at her all the time, and that most certainly he was very much in 
love with the beautiful owner of the glass slipper. 

What they said was true; for a few days after the King’s son 
caused it to be proclaimed, by sound of trumpet, that he would 
marry her whose foot this slipper would fit exactly. They began 
to try it on the princesses, then on the duchesses, and then on all the 
ladies of the Court; but in vain. It was brought to the two sisters, 
who did all they possibly could to thrust a foot into the slipper, but 
they could not succeed. Cinderella, who saw this, and knew her 
slipper, said to them, laughing: 

“ Let me see if it will not fit me.” 

Her sisters burst out a-laughing, and began to banter her. The 
gentleman who was sent to try the slipper looked earnestly at 
Cinderella, and, finding her very handsome, said it was but just 


110 Types of Childrens Literature 

that she should try, and that he had orders to let every lady try it 
on. 

He obliged Cinderella to sit down, and, putting the slipper to her 
little foot, he found it went on very easily, and fitted her as if it had 
been made of wax. The astonishment of her two sisters was great, 
but it was still greater when Cinderella pulled out of her pocket the 
other slipper and put it on her foot. Thereupon, in came her god- 
mother, who, having touched Cinderella’s clothes with her wand, 
made them more magnificent than those she had worn before. 

And now her two sisters found her to be that beautiful lady they 
had seen at the ball. They threw themselves at her feet to beg 
pardon for all their ill treatment of her. Cinderella took them up, 
and, as she embraced them, said that she forgave them with all her 
heart, and begged them to love her always. 

She was conducted to the young Prince, dressed as she was. He 
thought her more charming than ever, and, a few days after, married 
her. Cinderella, who was as good as she was beautiful, gave her two 
sisters a home in the palace, and that very same day married them to 
two great lords of the Court. 

THE HISTORY OF DICK WHITTINGTON AND 
HIS CAT 

Old Chapbook 

In the reign of the famous King Edward the Third, there was 
a little boy called Dick Whittington, whose father and mother died 
when he was very young, so that he remembered nothing at all about 
them, and was left a dirty little fellow running about a country vil- 
lage. As poor Dick was not old enough to work, he was in a 
sorry plight. He got but little for his dinner, and sometimes noth- 
ing at all for his breakfast, for the people who lived in the village 
were very poor themselves, and could spare him little more than the 
parings of potatoes, and now and then a hard crust. 

For all this, Dick Whittington was a very sharp boy, and was 
always listening to what every one talked about. 

On Sundays he never failed to get near the farmers, as they 
sat talking on the tombstones in the churchyard before the parson 
was come; and once a week you might be sure to see little Dick lean- 
ing against the signpost of the village alehouse, where people stopped 
to drink as they came from the next market town; and whenever the 


Fairy Stories and Nursery l 1 ales 111 

barber’s shop door was open Dick listened to all the news he told his 
customers. 

In this manner Dick heard of the great city called London; how 
the people who lived there were all fine gentlemen and ladies; 
that there were singing and music in it all day long; and that the 
streets were paved all over with gold. 

One day a wagoner, with a large wagon and eight horses, all with 
bells at their heads, drove through the village while Dick was 
lounging near his favorite signpost. The thought immediately 
struck him that it must be going to the fine town of London; and 
taking courage he asked the wagoner to let him walk with him by 
the side of the wagon. The man, hearing from poor Dick that he 
had no parents, and seeing by his ragged condition that he could 
not be worse off, told him he might go if he would; so they set off 
together. 

Dick got safe to London ; and so eager was he to see the fine streets 
paved all over with gold that he ran as fast as his legs would carry 
him through several streets, expecting every moment to come to 
those that were all paved with gold, for Dick had three times seen 
a guinea in his own village, and observed what a great deal of money 
it brought in change; so he imagined he had only to take up some 
little bits of the pavement to have as much money as he desired. 

Poor Dick ran till he was tired, and at last, finding it grow dark, 
and that whichever way he turned he saw nothing but dirt instead 
of gold, he sat down in a dark corner and cried himself asleep. 

Little Dick remained all night in the streets; and next morning, 
finding himself very hungry, he got up and walked about, asking 
those he met to give him a halfpenny to keep him from starving; but 
nobody stayed to answer him, and only two or three gave him any- 
thing, so that the poor boy was soon in the most miserable condition. 
Being almost starved to death, he laid himself down at the door of 
one Mr. Fitzwarren, a great, rich merchant. Here he was soon 
perceived by the cook-maid, who was an ill-tempered creature, and 
happened just then to be very busy dressing dinner for her master 
and mistress; so, seeing poor Dick, she called out, “What business 
have you there, you lazy rogue? There is nothing else but beg- 
gars; if you do not take yourself away, we will see how you will 
like a sousing of some dishwater I have here that is hot enough to 
make you caper.” 

Just at this time Mr. Fitzwarren himself came home from the city 
to dinner, and, seeing a dirty, ragged boy lying at the door, said to 


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Types of Childrens Literature 

him, 44 Why do you lie there, my lad? You seem old enough to 
work. I fear you must be somewhat idle.” 44 No, indeed, sir,” says 
Whittington, 44 that is not true, for I would work with all my heart, 
but I know nobody, and I believe I am very sick for want of food.” 

44 Poor fellow! ” answered Mr. Fitzwarren. 

Dick now tried to rise, but was obliged to lie down again, being, 
too weak to stand, for he had not eaten anything for three days, 
and was no longer able to run about and beg a halfpenny of people 
in the street; so the kind merchant ordered that he should be taken 
into his house, and have a good dinner immediately, and that 
he should be kept to do what dirty work he was able for the 
cook. 

Little Dick would have lived very happily in this worthy family 
had it not been for the crabbed cook, who was finding fault and 
scolding him from morning till night, and was withal so fond of 
roasting and basting that, when the spit was out of her hands, she 
would be at basting poor Dick’s head and shoulders with a broom, 
or anything else that happened to fall in her way, till at last her 
ill usage of him was told to Miss Alice, Mr. Fitzwarren’s daughter, 
who asked the ill-tempered creature if she was not ashamed to use 
a little friendless boy so cruelly; and added she would certainly be 
turned away if she did not treat him with more kindness. 

But though the cook was so ill-tempered, Mr. Fitzwarren’s footman 
was quite the contrary. He had lived in the family many years, 
was rather elderly, and had once a little boy of his own, who died 
when about the age of Whittington, so that he could not but feel 
compassion for the poor boy. 

As the footman was very fond of reading, he used generally in 
the evening to entertain his fellow servants, when they had done 
their work, with some amusing book. The pleasure our little hero 
took in hearing him made him very much desire to learn to read, 
too; so the next time the good-natured footman gave him a half- 
penny, he bought a hornbook with it; and, with a little of his help, 
Dick soon learned his letters, and afterwards to read. 

About this time Miss Alice was going out one morning for a walk, 
and the footman happening to be out of the way, little Dick, who 
had received from Mr. Fitzwarren a neat suit of clothes to go to 
church on Sundays, was ordered to put them on, and walk behind 
her. As they walked along. Miss Alice, seeing a poor woman with 
one child in her arms and another at her back, pulled out her 
purse, and gave her some money; and, as she was putting it again 


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Fairy Stories and Nursery Tales 

into her pocket, she dropped it on the ground, and walked on. 
Luckily Dick, who was behind, saw what she had done, picked it up, 
and immediately presented it to her. 

Besides the ill-humor of the cook, which now, however, was some- 
what mended, Whittington had another hardship to get over. This 
was, that his bed, which was made of flock, was placed in a garret, 
where there were so many holes in the floor and walls that he never 
went to bed without being awakened in his sleep by great numbers of 
rats and mice, which generally ran over his face, and made such a 
noise that he sometimes thought the walls were tumbling down about 
him. 

One day a gentleman who paid a visit to Mr. Fitzwarren hap- 
pened to have dirtied his shoes, and begged they might be cleaned. 
Dick took great pains to make them shine, and the gentleman gave 
him a penny. This he resolved to lay out in buying a cat, if pos- 
sible; and the next day, seeing a little girl with a cat under her 
arm, he went up to her, and asked if she would let him have it for 
a penny, to which the girl replied she would with all her heart, 
for her mother had more cats than she could maintain, adding 
that the one she had was an excellent mouser. 

This cat Whittington hid in the garret, always taking care to carry 
her a part of his dinner; and in a short time he had no further 
disturbance from the rats and mice, but slept as sound as a top. 

Soon after this the merchant, who had a ship ready to sail, richly 
laden, and thinking it but just that all his servants should have some 
chance for good luck as well as himself, called them into the parlor, 
and asked them what commodity they chose to send. 

All mentioned something they were willing to venture, but poor 
Whittington, who, having no money nor goods, could send nothing 
at all, for which reason he did not come in with the rest; but Miss 
Alice, guessing what was the matter, ordered him to be called, and 
offered to lay down some money for him from her own purse; but 
this, the merchant observed, would not do, for it must be something 
of his own. 

Upon this, poor Dick said he had nothing but a cat, which he 
bought for a penny that was given him. 

“ Fetch thy cat, boy,” says Mr. Fitzwarren, “ and let her go.” 

Whittington brought poor puss, and delivered her to the captain 
with tears in his eyes, for he said, “ He should now again be kept 
awake all night by the rats and mice.” 

All the company laughed at the oddity of Whittington’s adven- 


114 


Types of Childrens Literature 

ture; and Miss Alice, who felt the greatest pity for the poor boy, 
gave him some halfpence to buy another cat. 

This, and several other marks of kindness shown him by Miss 
Alice, made the ill-tempered cook so jealous of the favors the poor 
boy received that she began to use him more cruelly than ever, and 
constantly made game of him for sending his cat to sea, asking him 
if he thought it would sell for as much money as would buy a 
halter. 

At last the unhappy little fellow, being unable to bear this 
treatment any longer, determined to run away from his place. He 
accordingly packed up the few things that belonged to him, and set 
out very early in the morning on Allhallow Day, which is the 
first of November. He traveled as far as Holloway, and there sat 
down on a stone, which to this day is called W hittington s Stone, 
and began to consider what course he should take. 

While he was thus thinking what he could do, Bow Bells, of which 
there were then only six, began to ring, and it seemed to him that 
their sounds addressed him in this manner — 

“Turn again, Whittington, 

Lord mayor of London.” 

“ Lord mayor of London ! ” says he to himself. “ Why, to be 
sure, I would bear anything to be lord mayor of London, and ride in 
a fine coach! Well, I will go back, and think nothing of all the 
cuffing and scolding of old Cicely, if I am at last to be lord mayor 
of London.” 

So back went Dick, and got into the house, and set about his 
business before Cicely came downstairs. 

The ship, with the cat on board, was long beaten about at sea, 
and was at last driven by contrary winds on a part of the coast of 
Barbary, inhabited by Moors that were unknown to the English. 

The natives in this country came in great numbers, out of curiosity, 
to see the people on board, who were all of so different a color from 
themselves, and treated them with great civility, and, as they became 
better acquainted, showed marks of eagerness to purchase the fine 
things with which the ship was laden. 

The captain, seeing this, sent patterns of the choicest articles he 
had to the king of the country, who was so much pleased with 
them that he sent for the captain and his chief mate to the palace. 
Here they were placed, as is the custom of the country, on rich 
carpets flowered with gold and silver; and, the king and queen being 


115 


Fairy Stories and Nursery Tales 

seated at the upper end of the room, dinner was brought in, which 
consisted of the greatest rarities. No sooner, however, were all the 
dishes set before the company than an amazing number of rats 
and mice rushed in, and helped themselves plentifully from every 
dish, scattering pieces of flesh and gravy all about the room. 

The captain, extremely astonished, asked if these vermin were not 
very offensive. 

“Oh, yes,” said they, “very offensive; and the king would give 
half his treasure to be free of them, for they not only destroy his 
dinner, but they disturb him even in his chamber, so that he is 
obliged to be watched while he sleeps.” 

The captain, who was ready to jump for joy, remembering poor 
Whittington’s hard case, and the cat he had entrusted to his care, told 
him he had a creature on board his ship that would kill them all. 

The king was still more overjoyed than the captain. “ Bring this 
creature to me,” says he; “ and if she can really perform what you 
say I will load your ship with wedges of gold in exchange for her.” 

Away flew the captain, while another dinner was providing, to 
the ship, and, taking puss under his arm, returned to the palace in 
time to see the table covered with rats and mice, and the second 
dinner in a fair way to meet with the same fate as the first. 

The cat, at sight of them, did not wait for bidding, but sprang 
from the captain’s arms, and in a few moments laid the greatest part 
of the rats and mice dead at her feet, while the rest, in the greatest 
fright imaginable, scampered away to their holes. 

The king, having seen and considered of the wonderful exploits 
of Mrs. Puss, and being informed she would soon have young ones, 
which might in time destroy all the rats and mice in the country, 
bargained with the captain for his whole ship’s cargo, and after- 
wards agreed to give a prodigious quantity of wedges of gold, of still 
greater value, for the cat, with which, after taking leave of their 
Majesties, and other great personages belonging to the court, he, 
with all his ship’s company, set sail, with a fair wind, and, after a 
happy voyage, arrived safely in the port of London. 

One morning Mr. Fitzwarren had just entered his counting-house, 
and was going to seat himself at the desk, when who should arrive 
but the captain and mate of the merchant ship, the Unicorn , just 
arrived from the coast of Barbary, and followed by several men, 
bringing with them a prodigious quantity of wedges of gold that had 
been paid by the king of Barbary in exchange for the merchandise, 
and also in exchange for Mrs. Puss. Mr. Fitzwarren, the instant he 


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heard the news, ordered Whittington to be called, and, having desired 
him to be seated, said, “ Mr. Whittington, most heartily do I rejoice 
in the news these gentlemen have brought you, for the captain has 
sold your cat to the king of Barbary, and brought you in return 
more riches than I possess in the whole world; and may you long 
enjoy them! ” 

Mr. Fitz warren then desired the men to open the immense treasure 
they had brought, and added that Mr. Whittington had now nothing 
to do but to put it in some place of safety. 

Poor Dick could scarce contain himself for joy. He begged his 
master to take what part of it he pleased, since to his kindness he 
was indebted for the whole. “ No, no, this wealth is all your own, 
and justly so,” answered Mr. Fitz warren; “ and I have no doubt you 
will use it generously.” 

Whittington, however, was too kind-hearted to keep all himself; 
and accordingly made a handsome present to the captain, the mate, 
and every one of the ship’s company, and afterwards to his excellent 
friend the footman, and the rest of Mr. Fitz warren’s servants, not 
even excepting crabbed old Cicely. 

After this, Mr. Fitz warren advised him to send for tradespeople, 
and get himself dressed as became a gentleman, and made him the 
offer of his house to live in till he could provide himself with a 
better. 

When Mr. Whittington’s face was washed, his hair curled, his 
hat cocked, and he was dressed in a fashionable suit of clothes, he 
appeared as handsome and genteel as any young man who visited 
at Mr. Fitzwarren’s; so that Miss Alice, who had formerly thought 
of him with compassion, now considered him as fit to be her lover; 
and the more so, no doubt, because Mr. Whittington was constantly 
thinking what he could do to oblige her, and making her the prettiest 
presents imaginable. 

Mr. Fitzwarren, perceiving their affection for each other, proposed 
to unite them in marriage, to which, without difficulty, they each 
consented; and accordingly a day for the wedding was soon fixed, 
and they were attended to church by the lord mayor, the court of 
aldermen, the sheriffs, and a great number of the wealthiest mer- 
chants in London; and the ceremony was succeeded by a most elegant 
entertainment and splendid ball. 

History tells us that the said Mr. Whittington and his lady lived 
in great splendor, and were very happy; that they had several chil- 
dren; that he was sheriff of London in the year 1340, and several 


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times afterwards lord mayor; that in the last year of his mayoralty 
he entertained King Henry the Fifth on his return from the battle 
of Agincourt. And sometime afterwards, going with an address 
from the city on one of his Majesty’s victories, he received the honor 
of knighthood. 

Sir Richard Whittington constantly fed great numbers of the poor. 
He built a church and college to it, with a yearly allowance to poor 
scholars, and near it erected a hospital. 

The effigy of Sir Richard Whittington was to be seen, with his cat 
in his arms, carved in stone, over the archway of the late prison of 
Newgate that went across Newgate Street. 

THE UGLY DUCKLING 
Hans Christian Andersen 

It was glorious out in the country. It was summer, and the corn- 
fields were yellow, and the oats were green; the hay had been put 
up in stacks in the green meadows, and the stork went about on his 
long red legs, and chattered Egyptian, for this was the language he 
had learned from his good mother. All around the fields and 
meadows were great forests, and in the midst of these forests lay 
deep lakes. Yes, it was really glorious out in the country. In the 
midst of the sunshine there lay an old farm, surrounded by deep 
canals, and from the wall down to the water grew great burdocks, 
so high that the children could stand upright under the loftiest of 
theVxi. It was just as wild there as in the deepest wood. Here sat 
a Duck upon her nest, for she had to hatch her young ones; but she 
was almost tired out before the little ones came; and then she so 
seldom had visitors. The other Ducks liked better to swim about in 
the canals than to run up to sit down under a burdock and cackle 
with her. 

At last one eggshell after another burst open. “ Piep! piep! ” it 
cried, and in all the eggs there were little creatures that stuck out 
their heads. 

“ Rap ! rap ! ” they said ; and they all came rapping out as fast as 
they could, looking all round them under the green leaves; and the 
mother let them look as much as they chose, for green is good for 
the eyes. “How wide the world is! ” said the young ones, for they 
certainly had much more room now than when they were in the eggs. 

“ Do you think this is all the world! ” asked the mother. “ That 


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Types of Childrens Literature 

extends far across the other side of the garden, quite into the par- 
son’s field, but I have never been there yet. I hope you are all to- 
gether,” she continued, and stood up. “ No, I have not all. The 
largest egg still lies there. How long is that to last? I am really 
tired of it.” And she sat down again. 

“ Well, how goes it? ” asked an old Duck who had come to pay 

her a visit. 

“ It lasts a long time with that one egg,” said the Duck who sat 
there. 44 It will not burst. Now, only look at the others; are they 
not the prettiest ducks one could possibly see? They are all like 
their father; the bad fellow never comes to see me.” 

“ Let me see the egg which will not burst,” said the old visitor. 
44 Believe me, it is a turkey’s egg. I was once cheated in that way, 
and had much anxiety and trouble with the young ones, for they 
are afraid of the water. I could not get them to venture in. I 
quacked and clucked, but it was of no use. Let me see the egg. 
Yes, that’s a turkey’s egg. Let it lie there, and you teach the other 
children to swim.” 

“ I think I will sit on it a little longer,” said the Duck. “ I’ve sat 
so long now that I can sit a few days more.” 

44 Just as you please,” said the old Duck; and she went away. 

At last the great egg burst. 44 Piep ! piep ! ” said the little one, 
and crept forth. It was very large and very ugly. The Duck 
looked at it. 

44 It’s a very large duckling,” said she; 44 none of the others look 
like that; can it really be a turkey chick? Now we shall soon find 
out. It must go into the water, even if I have to thrust it in myself.” 

The next day the weather was splendidly bright, and the sun 
shone on all the green trees. The Mother Duck went down to the 
water with all her little ones. Splash! she jumped into the water. 
44 Quack! quack! ” she said, and then one duckling after another 
plunged in. The water closed over their heads, but they came up 
in an instant and swam capitally; their legs went of themselves, and 
there they were, all in the water. The ugly gray Duckling swam 
with them. 

44 No, it’s not a turkey,” said she; 44 look how well it can use its 
legs, and how upright it holds itself. It is my own child! On the 
whole it’s quite pretty, if one looks at it rightly. Quack! quack! 
come with me, and I’ll lead you out into the great world, and 
present you in the poultry yard; but keep close to me, so that no 
one may tread on you; and take care of the cats! ” 


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Fairy Stories and Nursery Tales 

And so they came into the poultry yard. There was a terrible 
riot going on there, for two families were quarreling about an eel’s 
head, and the cat got it after all. 

“See, that’s how it goes in the world! ” said the Mother Duck; 
and she whetted her beak, for she, too, wanted the eel’s head. “Only 
use your legs,” she said. “ See that you bustle about, and bow your 
heads before the old Duck yonder. She’s the grandest of all here; 
she s of Spanish blood — that s why she’s so fat; and do you see, 
she has a red rag round her leg; that’s something particularly 
fine, and the greatest distinction a duck can enjoy; it signifies that 
one does not want to lose her, and that she’s to be recognized by 
man and beast. Shake yourselves — don’t turn in your toes; a well- 
brought-up Duck turns its toes quite out, just like father and mother, 
so ! Now bend your necks and say 4 Rap ! ’ ” 

And they did so; but the other Ducks round about looked at them 
and said quite boldly: 

“ Look there ! now we’re to have these hanging on, as if there were 
not enough of us already! And — fie — ! how that Duckling yon- 
der looks; we won’t stand that! ” And one Duck flew up im- 
mediately, and bit it in the neck. 

“ Let it alone,” said the mother; “ it does no harm to any one.” 

“ Yes, but it’s too large and peculiar,” said the Duck who had 
bitten it; “ and therefore it must be buffeted.” 

“ Those are pretty children that the mother has there,” said the 
old Duck with the rag round her leg. “ They’re all pretty but that 
one; that was a failure. I wish she could alter it.” 

“ That cannot be done, my Lady,” replied the Mother Duck. “ It 
is not pretty, but it has a really good disposition, and swims as well 
as any other; I may even say it swims better. I think it will grow 
up pretty, and become smaller in time; it has lain too long in the 
egg, and therefore is not properly shaped.” And then she pinched 
it in the neck and smoothed its feathers. “ Moreover, it is a drake,” 
she said, “and therefore it is not of so much consequence. I think 
he will be very strong; he makes his way already.” 

“ The other ducklings are graceful- enough,” said the old Duck. 
“Make yourself at home; and if you find an eel’s head, you may 
bring it me.” 

And now they were at home. But the poor Duckling which had 
crept last out of the egg, and looked so ugly, was bitten and pushed 
and jeered, as much by the Ducks as by the chickens. 

“It is too big! ” they all said. And the turkey-cock, who had 


120 Types of Children s Literature 

been born with spurs and therefore thought himself an emperor, 
blew himself up like a ship in full sail and bore straight down upon 
it; then he gobbled and grew quite red in the face. The poor 
Duckling did not know where it should stand or walk; it was quite 
melancholy, because it looked ugly and was scoffed at by the whole 
yard. 

So it went on the first day, and afterward it became worse and 
worse. The poor Duckling was hunted about by every one; even 
its brothers and sisters were quite angry with it, and said, “ If the 
cat would only catch you, you ugly creature! ” And the mother 
said, “ If you were only far away! ” And the Ducks bit it and the 
chickens beat it, and the girl who had to feed the poultry kicked 
at it with her foot. 

Then it ran and flew over the fence, and the little birds in the 
bushes flew up in fear. 

“That is because I am so ugly! ” thought the Duckling; and it 
shut its eyes, but flew no further; thus it came out into the great 
moor, where the Wild Ducks lived. Here it lay the whole night 
long; and it was weary and downcast. 

Toward morning the Wild Ducks flew up and looked at their new 
companion. 

“What sort of a one are you? ” they asked; and the Duckling 
turned in every direction, and bowed as well as it could. “ You are 
remarkably ugly! ” said the Wild Ducks. “But that is very indif- 
ferent to us, so long as you do not marry into our family.” 

Poor thing! It certainly did not think of marrying, and only 
hoped to obtain leave to lie among the reeds and drink some of the 
swamp water. 

Thus it lay two whole days; then came thither two Wild Geese, 
or, properly speaking, two wild ganders. It was not long since each 
had crept out of an egg, and that’s why they were so saucy. 

“ Listen, comrade,” said one of them. “ You’re so ugly that I 
like you. Will you go with us and become a bird of passage? 
Near here, in another moor, there are a few sweet lovely wild geese, 
all unmarried and all able to say ‘Rap!’ You’ve a chance of 
making your fortune, ugly as you are! ” 

“ Piff ! paff ! ” resounded through the air ; and the two ganders 
fell down dead in the swamp, and the water became blood-red. 
“Piff! paff! ” it sounded again, and the whole flock of wild geese 
rose up from the reeds. And then there was another report. A 
great hunt was going on. The hunters were lying in wait all round 


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the moor and some were even sitting up in the branches of the 
trees, which spread far over the reeds. The blue smoke rose up like 
clouds among the dark trees, and was wafted far away across the 
water; and the hunting dogs came — splash, splash! — into the 
swamp, and the rushes and reeds bent down on every side. That 
was a fright for the poor Duckling! It turned its head and put it 
under its wing; but at that moment a frightful great dog stood close 
by the Duckling. His tongue hung far out of his mouth and his 
eyes gleamed horrible and ugly; he thrust out his nose close against 
the Duckling, showed his sharp teeth, and — splash, splash! — on 
he went without seizing it. 

“ Oh, heaven be thanked ! ” sighed the Duckling. “ I am so ugly 
that even the dog does not like to bite me! ” 

And so it lay quiet, while the shots rattled through the reeds and 
gun after gun was fired. At last, late in the day, silence; but the 
poor Duckling did not dare to rise up ; it waited several hours before 
it looked round, and then hastened away out of the moor as fast as it 
could. It ran on over field and meadow; there was such a storm 
raging that it was difficult to get from one place to another. 

Toward evening the Duck came to a little miserable peasant’s hut. 
This hut was so dilapidated that it did not know on which side it 
should fall; and that’s why it remained standing. The storm whis- 
tled round the Duckling in such a way that the poor creature was 
obliged to sit down, to stand against it; and the tempest grew worse 
and worse. Then the Duckling noticed that one of the hinges of the 
door had given way, and the door hung so slanting that the Duckling 
could slip through the crack into the room; and it did so. 

Here lived an old woman, with her Tom Cat and her Hen. And the 
Tom Cat, whom she called Sonnie, could arch his back and purr, he 
could even give out sparks; but for that one had to stroke his fur 
the wrong way. The Hen had quite little legs, and therefore she 
was called Chickabiddy-short-shanks; she laid good eggs, and the 
woman loved her as her own child. 

In the morning the strange Duckling was at once noticed, and 
the Tom Cat began to purr and the Hen to cluck. 

“What’s this? ” said the woman, and looked all round; but she 
could not see well, and therefore she thought the Duckling was a 
fat duck that had strayed. “ This is a rare prize,” she said. “ Now 
I shall have duck’s eggs. I hope it is not a drake. We must try 
that.” 

And so the Duckling was admitted on trial for three weeks; but 


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no eggs came. And the Tom Cat was master of the house, and the 
Hen was the lady, and they always said “ We and the world! ” for 
they thought they were half the world, and by far the better half. 
The Duckling thought one might have a different opinion, but the 
Hen would not allow it. 

44 Can you lay eggs? ” she asked. 

“ No.” 

“ Then you’ll have the goodness to hold your tongue.” 

And the Tom Cat said, “ Can you curve your back, and purr, and 
give out sparks? ” 

“ No.” 

“ Then you cannot have any opinion of your own when sensible 
people are speaking.” 

And the Duckling sat in a corner and was melancholy; then the 
fresh air and the sunshine streamed in; and it was seized with such 
a strange longing to swim on the water that it could not help telling 
the Hen of it. 

“ What are you thinking of? ” cried the Hen. 44 You have nothing 
to do, that’s why you have these fancies. Purr or lay eggs, and 
they will pass over.” 

44 But it is so charming to swim on the water ! ” said the Duck- 
ling, “ so refreshing to let it close above one’s head, and to dive down 
to the bottom.” 

“ Yes, that must be a mighty pleasure truly,” quoth the Hen. “ I 
fancy you must have gone crazy. Ask the Cat about it* — he’s the 
cleverest animal I know — ask him if he likes to swim on the water, 
or to dive down: I won’t speak about myself. Ask our mistress, 
the old woman; no one in the world’s cleverer than she. Do you 
think she has any desire to swim, and to let the water close above 
her head? ” 

“ You don’t understand me,” said the Duckling. 

44 We don’t understand you ? Then pray who is to understand 
you? You surely don’t pretend to be cleverer than the Tom Cat and 
the old woman — I won’t say anything of myself. Don’t be con- 
ceited, child, and be grateful for all the kindness you have received. 
Did you not get into a warm room, and have you not fallen into 
company from which you may learn something? But you are a 
chatterer, and it is not pleasant to associate with you. You may 
believe me, I speak for your good. I tell you disagreeable things, 
and by that one may always know one’s friends. Only take care 
that you learn to lay eggs, or to purr and give out sparks! ” 


Fairy Stories and Nursery Tales 123 

“ I think I will go out into the wide world,” said the Duckling. 

“ Yes, do go,” replied the Hen. 

And the Duckling went away. It swam on the water, and dived, 
but it was slighted by every creature because of its ugliness. 

Now came the autumn. The leaves in the forest turned yellow 
and brown ; the wind caught them so that they danced about, and up 
in the air it was very cold. The clouds hung low, heavy with hail 
and snowflakes, and on the fence stood the raven, crying, “ Croak ! 
croak! ” for mere cold; yes, it was enough to make one feel cold 
to think of this. The poor little Duckling certainly had not a good 
time. One evening — the sun was just setting in his beauty — there 
came a whole flock of great handsome birds out of the bushes; they 
were dazzlingly white, with long, flexible necks; they were swans. 
They uttered a very peculiar cry, spread forth their glorious great 
win^s, and flew away from that cold region to warmer lands, to fair 
open lakes. They mounted, so high, so high! and the ugly little 
Duckling felt quite strangely as it watched them. It turned round 
and round in the water like a wheel, stretched out its neck toward 
them, and uttered such a strange loud cry as frightened itself. Oh! 
it could not forget those beautiful, happy birds; and as soon as it 
could see them no longer, it dived down to the very bottom, and when 
it came up again, it was quite beside itself. It knew not the name of 
those birds, and knew not whither they were flying ; but it loved them 
more than it had ever loved any one. It was not at all envious of 
them. How could it think of wishing to possess such loveliness as 
they had? It would have been glad if only the ducks would have 
endured its company — the poor ugly creature! 

And the winter grew cold, very cold! The Duckling was forced 
to swim about in the water, to prevent the surface from freezing 
entirely; but every night the hole in which it swam about became 
smaller and smaller. It froze so hard that the icy covering crackled 
again; and the Duckling was obliged to use its legs continually to 
prevent the hole from freezing up. At last it became exhausted, 
and lay quite still, and thus froze fast into the ice. 

Early in the morning a peasant came by, and when he saw what 
had happened, he took his wooden shoe, broke the ice crust to pieces, 
and carried the Duckling home to his wife. Then it came to itself 
again. The children wanted to play with it; but the Duckling 
thought they would do it an injury, and in its terror fluttered up 
into the milk pan, so that the milk spurted down into the room. The 
woman clasped her hands, at which the Duckling flew down into the 


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Types of Childrens Literature 

butter tub, and then into the meal barrel and out again. How it 
looked then! The woman screamed, and struck at it with the fire 
tongs; the children tumbled over one another, in their efforts to 
catch the Duckling; and they laughed and screamed finely! Hap- 
pily the door stood open, and the poor creature was able to slip out 
between the shrubs into the newly fallen snow; and there it lay quite 
exhausted. 

But it would be too melancholy if I were to tell all the misery 
and care which the Duckling had to endure in the hard winter. It 
lay out on the moor among the reeds, when the sun began to shine 
again and the larks to sing; it was a beautiful spring. 

Then all at once the Duckling could flap its wings; they beat the 
air more strongly than before, and bore it strongly away; and before 
it well knew how all this had happened, it found itself in a great 
garden, where the elder trees smelt sweet, and bent their long green 
branches down to the canal that wound through the region. Oh, here 
it was so beautiful, such a gladness of spring! and from the thicket 
came three glorious white swans; they rustled their wings, and swam 
lightly on the water. The Duckling knew the splendid creatures, 
and felt oppressed by a peculiar sadness. 

“I will fly away to them, to the royal birds! and they will kill 
me, because I, that am so ugly, dare to approach them. But it is of 
no consequence! Better to be killed by them than to be pursued by 
ducks, and beaten by fowls, and pushed about by the girl who takes 
care of the poultry yard, and to suffer hunger in winter! ” And it 
flew out into the water, and swam toward the beautiful swans: these 
looked at it, and came sailing down upon it with outspread wings. 
“Kill me! ” said the poor creature, and bent its head down upon 
the water, expecting nothing but death. But what was this that it 
saw in the clear water? It beheld its own image — and, lo! it was 
no longer a clumsy dark-gray bird, ugly and hateful to look at, but 
— a swan. 

It matters nothing if one was born in a duck yard, if one has only 
lain in a swan’s egg. 

It felt quite glad at all the need and misfortune it had suffered, 
now it realized its happiness in all the splendor that surrounded it. 
And the great swans swam round it, and stroked it with their beaks. 

Into the garden came little children, who threw bread and corn 
into the water ; the youngest cried, “ There is a new one ! ” and the 
other children shouted joyously, “Yes, a new one has arrived! ” 
And they clapped their hands and danced about, and ran to their 


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Fairy Stories and Nursery Tales 

father and mother; and bread and cake were thrown into the water; 
and they all said, “The new one is the most beautiful of all! so 
young and handsome! ” and the old swans bowed their heads before 
him. 

Then he felt quite ashamed, and hid his head under his wing, for 
he did not know what to do; he was so happy, and yet not at all 
proud. He thought how he had been persecuted and despised; and 
now he heard them saying that he was the most beautiful of all the 
birds. Even the elder tree bent its branches straight down into the 
water before him, and the sun shone warm and mild. Then his 
wings rustled, he lifted his slender neck, and cried rejoicingly from 
the depths of his heart: 

“ I never dreamed of so much happiness when I was still the 
Ugly Duckling! ” 

THE FLAX 

Hans Christian Andersen 

The Flax was in full bloom. Its pretty blue blossoms were as soft 
as the wings of a moth, and still more delicate. And the sun shone 
on the flax field, and the rain watered it; and that was as good for 
the flax flowers as it is for little children to be washed and kissed by 
their mother, — they look so much fresher and prettier afterwards. 
Thus it was with the Flax flowers. 

“People say I am so fine and flourishing,” observed the Flax; 
“ and that I am growing so charmingly tall, a splendid piece of 
linen will be got from me. Oh, how happy I am! how can any one 
be happier? Everything around me is so pleasant, and I shall be 
of use for something or other. How the sun cheers one up, and how 
fresh and sweet the rain tastes! I am incomparably happy; I am 
the happiest vegetable in the world ! ” 

“Ah, ah, ah! ” jeered the Stakes in the hedge; “you don’t know 
the world, not you, but we know it, there are knots in us! ” and then 
they cracked so dolefully: 

“Snip, snap, snurre, 

Bassilurre, 

And so the song is en-ded-ded-ded.” 

“No, it is not ended,” replied the Flax; “the sun shines every 
morning, the rain does me so much good, I can see myseif grow; 
I can feel that I am in blossom — who so happy as I? ” 


126 


Types of Children s Literature 

However, one day people came, took hold of the Flax, and pulled 
it up, root and all; that was exceedingly uncomfortable; and then it 
was thrown into water, as though intended to be drowned, and, after 
that, put before the fire, as though to be roasted. That was most 
cruel ! 

“One cannot always have what one wishes! ” sighed the Flax; 
“ it is well to suffer sometimes, it gives one experience.” 

But matters seemed to get worse and worse. The Flax was bruised 
and broken, hacked and hackled, and at last put on the wheel — 
snurre rur! snurre rur! — it was not possible to keep one’s thoughts 
collected in such a situation as this. 

“ I have been exceedingly fortunate,” thought the Flax, amid all 
these tortures. “ One ought to be thankful for the happiness one 
has enjoyed in times past. Thankful, thankful, oh, yes! ” and still 
the Flax said the same when taken to the loom. And here it was 
made into a large, handsome piece of linen; all the Flax of that 
one field was made into a single piece. 

“Well, but this is charming! Never should I have expected it. 
What unexampled good fortune I have carried through the world 
with me! What arrant nonsense the Stakes in the hedge used to 
talk with their 

“ ‘ Snip, snap, snurre, 

Bassilurre.’ 

The song is not ended at all! Life is but just beginning. It is a 
very pleasant thing, too, is life; to be sure I have suffered, but that is 
past now, and I have become something through suffering. I am 
so strong, and yet so soft! so white and so long! this is far better 
than being a vegetable; even during blossom-time nobody attends 
to one, and one only gets water when it is raining. Now, I am well 
taken care of — the girl turns me over every morning, and I have a 
shower bath from the water tub every evening; nay, the parson’s wife 
herself came and looked at me, and said I was the finest piece of 
linen in the parish. No one can possibly be happier than I am! ” 

The Linen was taken into the house, and cut up with scissors. Oh, 
how it was cut and clipped, how it was pierced and stuck through 
with needles! that was certainly no pleasure at all. It was at last 
made up into twelve articles of attire, such articles as are not often 
mentioned, but which people can hardly do without; there were just 
twelve of them. 

“So this, then, was my destiny. Well,. it is very delightful; now 
I shall be of use in the world, and there is really no pleasure like 


Fairy Stories and Nursery Tales 127 

that of being useful. We are now twelve pieces, but we are still one 
and the same we are a dozen! Certainly, this is being extremely 
fortunate! ” 

Years passed away, — at last the Linen could endure no longer. 

“ All things must pass away some time or other,” remarked each 
piece. “ I should like very much to last a little while longer, but 
one ought not to wish for impossibilities.” And so the Linen was 
rent into shreds and remnants numberless; they believed all was over 
with them, for they were hacked, and mashed, and boiled, and they 
knew not what else — and thus they became beautiful, fine, white 
paper ! 

“ Now, upon my word, this is a surprise! And a most delightful 
surprise too ! ” declared the Paper. 44 Why, now I am finer than 
ever, and I shall be written upon! I wonder what will be written 
upon me. Was there ever such famous good fortune as mine! ” 
And the Paper was written upon; the most charming stories in the 
world were written on it, and they were read aloud ! and people de- 
clared that these stories were very beautiful and very instructive; 
that to read them would make mankind both wiser and better. 
Truly, a great blessing was given to the world in the words written 
upon that same Paper. 

44 Certainly, this is more than I could ever have dreamt of, when 
I was a wee little blue flower of the field! How could I then have 
looked forward to becoming a messenger destined to bring knowl- 
edge and pleasure among men? I can hardly understand it even 
now. Yet, so it is, actually. And, for my own part, I have never 
done anything, beyond the little that in me lay, to strive to exist, 
and yet I am carried on from one state of honor and happiness to 
another; and every time that I think within myself, 4 Now, surely, the 
song is en-ded-ded-ded,’ I am converted into something new, some- 
thing far higher and better. Now, I suppose I shall be sent on my 
travels, shall be sent round the wide world, so that all men may read 
me. I should think that would be the wisest plan. Formerly I had 
blue blossoms, now for every single blossom I have some beautiful 
thought, or pleasant fancy — who so happy as I? ” 

But the Paper was not sent on its travels, it went to the printer’s 
instead, and there all that was written upon it was printed in a 
book; nay, in many hundred books: and in this way an infinitely 
greater number of people received pleasure and profit therefrom 
than if the written Paper itself had been sent round the world, and 
perhaps got torn and worn to pieces before it had gone halfway. 


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Types of Childrens Literature 

“ Yes, to be sure, this is much more sensible,” thought the Paper. 
“ It had never occurred to me, though. I am to stay at home and 
be held in as great honor as if I were an old grandfather. The 
book was written on me first, the ink flowed in upon me from the pen 
and formed the words. I shall stay at home, while the books go 
about the world, to and fro — that is much better. How glad I am! 
how fortunate I am! ” 

So the Paper was rolled up and laid on one side. “ It is good to 
repose after labor,” said the Paper. “ It is quite right to collect 
oneself, and quietly think over .all that dwelleth within one. Now, 
first, do I rightly know myself. And to know oneself, I have heard, 
is the best knowledge, the truest progress. And come what will, 
this I am sure of, all will end in progress — always is there 
progress! ” 

One day the roll of Paper was thrown upon the stove to be burnt 
— it must not be sold to the grocer to wrap round pounds of butter 
and sugar. And all the children in the house flocked round; they 
wanted to see the blaze, they wanted to count the multitude of tiny 
red sparks which seem to dart to and fro among the ashes, dying out, 
one after another, so quickly — they call them “ the children going 
out of school,” and the last spark of all is the schoolmaster; they 
often fancy he is gone out, but another and another spark flies up 
unexpectedly, and the schoolmaster always tarries a little behind the 
rest. 

And now all the Paper lay heaped up on the stove. “Ugh! ” it 
cried, and all at once it burst into a flame. So high did it rise into 
the air, never had the Flax been able to rear its tiny blue blossoms 
so high, and it shone as never the white Linen had shone; all the let- 
ters written on it became fiery red in an instant, and all the words 
and thoughts of the writer were surrounded with a glory. 

“ Now, then, I go straight up into the sun! ” said something within 
the flames. It was as though a thousand voices at once had spoken 
thus; and the Flame burst through the chimney, and rose high above 
it; and brighter than the Flame, yet invisible to mortal eyes, hov- 
ered little tiny beings, as many as there had been blossoms on the 
Flax. They were lighter and of more subtle essence than even the 
Flame that bore them; and when that Flame had quite died away, 
and nothing remained of the Paper but the black ashes, they once 
again danced over them, and wherever their feet touched the ashes, 
their footprints, the fiery red sparks, were seen. Thus “ the children 
went out of school, and the schoolmaster came last ”; it was a pleas- 


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Fairy Stories and Nursery Tales 

ure to see the pretty sight, and the children of the house stood looking 
at the black ashes and singing — 

“ Snip, snap, snurre, 

Bassilurre, 

And now the song is en-ded-ded-ded.” 

But the tiny invisible beings replied every one, “ The song is never 
ended; that is the best of it! We know that, and therefore none are 
so happy as we are! ” 

However, the children could neither hear nor understand the re- 
ply; nor would it be well that they should, for children must not 
know everything. 

BLUE BEARD 
Charles Perrault 

Once upon a time there was a man who had fine houses, both in 
town and country, a deal of silver and gold plate, carved furniture, 
and coaches gilded all over. But unhappily this man had a blue 
beard, which made him so ugly and so terrible that all the women 
and girls ran away from him. 

One of his neighbors, a lady of quality, had two daughters who 
were perfect beauties. He asked for one of them in marriage, leav- 
ing to her the choice of which she would bestow on him. They 
would neither of them have him, and they sent him backward and 
forward from one to the other, neither being able to make up her 
mind to marry a man who had a blue beard. Another thing which 
made them averse to him was that he had already married several 
wives, and nobody knew what had become of them. 

Blue Beard, to become better acquainted, took them, with their 
mother and three or four of their best friends, with some joung 
people of the neighborhood, to one of his country seats, where they 
stayed a whole week. 

There was nothing going on but pleasure parties, hunting, fishing, 
dancing, mirth, and feasting. Nobody went to bed, but all passed 
the night in playing pranks on each other. In short, everything 
succeeded so well that the youngest daughter began to think that the 
beard of the master of the house was not so very blue, and that he 
was a very civil gentleman. So as soon as they returned home, the 
marriage was concluded. 

About a month afterward Blue Beard told his wife that he was 


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Types of Children s Literature 

obliged to take a country journey for six weeks at least, upon busi- 
ness of great importance. He desired her to amuse herself well in 
his absence, to send for her friends, to take them into the country, 
if she pleased, and to live well wherever she was. 

“ Here,” said he, “ are the keys of the two great warehouses 
wherein I have my best furniture: these are of the room where I 
keep my silver and gold plate, which is not in everyday use; these 
open my safes, which hold my money, both gold and silver; these 
my caskets of jewels; and this is the master-key to all my apart- 
ments. But as for this little key, it is the key of the closet at the end 
of the great gallery on the ground floor. Open them all; go every- 
where; but as for that little closet, I forbid you to enter it, and I 
promise you surely that, if you open it, there’s nothing that you may 
not expect from my anger.” 

She promised to obey exactly all his orders; and he, after having 
embraced her, got into his coach and proceeded on his journey. 

Her neighbors and good friends did not stay to be sent for by the 
new-married lady, so great was their impatience to see all the riches 
of her house, not daring to come while her husband was there, be- 
cause of his blue beard, which frightened them. They at once ran 
through all the rooms, closets, and wardrobes, which were so fine 
and rich, and each seemed to surpass all others. They went up 
into the warehouses, where was the best and richest furniture; and 
they could not sufficiently admire the number and beauty of the 
tapestry, beds, couches, cabinets, stands, tables, and looking-glasses, 
in which you might see yourself from head to foot. Some of them 
were framed with glass, others with silver, plain and gilded, the 
most beautiful and the most magnificent ever seen. 

They ceased not to praise and envy the happiness of their friend, 
who, in the meantime, was not at all amused by looking upon all 
these ,rich things, because of her impatience to go and open the 
closet on the ground floor. Her curiosity was so great that, without 
considering how uncivil it was to leave her guests, she went down 
a little back staircase, with such excessive haste that twice or thrice 
she came near breaking her neck. Having reached the closet door, 
she stood still for some time, thinking of her husband’s orders, and 
considering that unhappiness might attend her if she was disobedient ; 
but the temptation was so strong she could not overcome it. She 
then took the little key, and opened the door, trembling. At first she 
could not see anything plainly, because the windows were shut. 
After some moments she began to perceive that several dead women 


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Fairy Stories and Nursery Tales 

were scattered about the floor. (These were all the wives whom 
Blue Beard had married and murdered, one after the other, because 
they did not obey his orders about the closet on the ground floor.) 
She thought she surely would die for fear, and the key, which she 
pulled out of the lock, fell out of her hand. 

After having somewhat recovered from the shock, she picked 
up the key, locked the door, and went upstairs into her chamber 
to compose herself ; but she could not rest, so much was she 
frightened. 

Having observed that the key of the closet was stained, she tried 
two or three times to wipe off the stain, but the stain would not 
come out. In vain did she wash it, and even rub it with soap and 
sand. The stain still remained, for the key was a magic key, and 
.she could never make it quite clean; when the stain was gone off 
from one side, it came again on the other. 

Blue Beard returned from his journey that same evening, and 
said he had received letters upon the road, informing him that the 
business which called him away was ended to his advantage. His 
wife did all she could to convince him she was delighted at his 
speedy return. 

Next morning he asked her for the keys, which she gave him, but 
with such a trembling hand that he easily guessed what had hap- 
pened. 

“ How is it,” said he, “ that the key of my closet is not among the 
rest? ” 

“ I must certainly,” said she, “ have left it upstairs upon the 
table.” 

“ Do not fail,” said Blue Beard, “ to bring it to me presently.” 

After having put off doing it several time's, she was forced to 
bring him the key. Blue Beard, having examined it, said to his 
wife: 

“ How comes this stain upon the key? ” 

“ I do not know,” cried the poor woman, paler than death. 

“You do not know! ” replied Blue Beard. “I very well know. 
You wished to go into the cabinet? Very well, madam; you shall 
go in, and take your place among the ladies you saw there.” 

She threw herself weeping at her husband’s feet, and begged his 
pardon with all the signs of a true repentance for her disobedience. 
She would have melted a rock, so beautiful and sorrowful was she; 
but Blue Beard had a heart harder than any stone. 

“ You must die, madam,” said he, “ and that at once.” 


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Types of Children s Literature 

“ Since I must die,” answered she, looking upon him with her eyes 
all bathed in tears, “ give me some little time to say my prayers.” 

“ I give you,” replied Blue Beard, “ half a quarter of an hour, 
but not one moment more.” 

When she was alone she called out to her sister, and said to her: 

Sister Anne,” — for that was her name, — “ go up, I beg you, to 
the top of the tower, and look if my brothers are not coming; they 
promised me they would come today, and if you see them, give them 
a sign to make haste.” 

Her sister Anne went up to the top of the tower, and the poor 
afflicted wife cried out from time to time: 

“Anne, sister Anne, do you see any one coming? ” 

And sister Anne said: 

“ I see nothing but the sun, which makes a dust, and the grass, 
which looks green.” 

In the meanwhile Blue Beard, holding a great saber in his hand, 
cried to his wife as loud as he could : 

“ Come down instantly, or I shall come up to you.” 

“ One moment longer, if you please,” said his wife; and then she 
cried out very softly, “ Anne, sister Anne, dost thou see anybody 
coming? ” 

And sister Anne answered: 

“ I see nothing but the sun, which makes a dust, and the grass, 
which is green.” 

“ Come down quickly,” cried Blue Beard, “ or I will come up to 
you.” 

“I am coming,” answered his wife; and then she cried, “Anne, 
sister Anne, dost thou not see any one coming? ” 

“ I see,” replied sister Anne, “ a great dust, which comes from 
this side.” 

“Are they my brothers? ” 

“Alas! no, my sister, I see a flock of sheep.” 

“ Will you not come down? ” cried Blue Beard. 

“ One moment longer,” said his wife, and then she cried out, 
“ Anne, sister Anne, dost thou see nobody coming? ” 

“ I see,” said she, “ two horsemen, but they are yet a great way 
off.” 

“ God be praised,” replied the poor wife, joyfully; “ they are my 
brothers; I will make them a sign, as well as I can, for them to make 
haste.” 

Then Blue Beard bawled out so loud that he made the whole house 


Fairy Stories and Nursery Tales 133 

tremble. The distressed wife came down, and threw herself at his 
feet, all in tears, with her hair about her shoulders. 

“ All this is of no help to you,” says Blue Beard ; “ you must 
die; ” then, taking hold of her hair with one hand, and lifting up 
his sword in the air with the other, he was about to take off her head. 
The poor lady, turning about to him, and looking at him with dying 
eyes, desired him to afford her one little moment to her thoughts. 

“ No, no,” said he, “ commend thyself to God,” and again lifting 
his arm — 

At this moment there was such a loud knocking at the gate that 
Blue Beard stopped suddenly. The gate was opened, and presently 
entered two horsemen, who, with sword in hand, ran directly to 
Blue Beard. He knew them to be his wife’s brothers, one a dragoon, 
the other a musketeer. He ran away immediately, but the two 
brothers pursued him so closely that they overtook him before he 
could get to the steps of the porch. There they ran their swords 
through his body, and left him dead. The poor wife was almost 
as dead as her husband, and had not strength enough to arise and 
welcome her brothers. 

Blue Beard had no heirs, and so his wife became mistress of all 
his estate. She made use of one portion of it to marry her sister 
Anne to a young gentleman who had loved her a long while; an- 
other portion to buy captains’ commissions for her brothers; and the 
rest to marry herself to a very worthy gentleman, \vho made her 
forget the sorry time she had passed with Blue Beard. 

JACK AND THE BEANSTALK 
Joseph Jacobs 

There was once upon a time a poor widow who had an only son 
named Jack, and a cow named Milky-white. And all they had to 
live on was the milk the cow gave every morning, which they car- 
ried to the market and sold. But one morning Milky-white gave 
no milk, and they didn’t know what to do. 

“ What shall we do, what shall we do? ” said the widow, wringing 
her hands. 

“ Cheer up, mother, I’ll go and get work somewhere,” said Jack. 

“ We’ve tried that before, and nobody would take you,” said his 
mother; “ we must sell Milky -white and with the money start shop, 
or something.” 


134 Types of Childrens Literature 

“All right, mother,” says Jack; “it’s market-day today, and I’ll 
soon sell Milky-white, and then we’ll see what we can do.” 

So he took the cow’s halter in his hand, and off he started. He 
hadn’t gone far when he met a funny-looking old man, who said to 
him: “Good morning, Jack.” 

“ Good morning to you,” said Jack, and wondered how he knew 
his name. 

“ Well, Jack, and where are you off to? ” said the man. 

“ I’m going to market to sell our cow here.” 

“ Oh, you look the proper sort of chap to sell cows,” said the man, 
“ I wonder if you know how many beans make five.” 

“ Two in each hand and one in your mouth,” says Jack, as sharp 
as a needle. 

“ Right you are,” says the man, “ and here they are, the very beans 
themselves,” he went on, pulling out of his pocket a number of 
strange-looking beans. “ As you are so sharp,” says he, “ I don’t 
mind a swop with you — your cow for these beans.” 

“ Go along,” says Jack; “ wouldn’t you like it? ” 

“ Ah ! you don’t know what these beans are,” said the man ; “ if 
you plant them over night, by morning they grow right up to the 
sky.” 

“ Really? ” said Jack; “ you don’t say so.” 

“ Yes, that is so, and if it doesn’t turn out to be true, you can have 
your cow back.” 

“ Right,” says Jack, and hands him over Milky-white’s halter and 
pockets the beans. 

Back goes Jack home, and as he hadn’t gone very far it wasn’t 
dusk by the time he got to his door. 

“Back already, Jack?” said his mother; “I see you haven’t 
got Milky-white, so you’ve sold her. How much did you get for 
her? ” 

“ You’ll never guess, mother,” says Jack. 

“No, you don’t say so. Good boy! Five pounds, ten, fifteen, 
no, it can’t be twenty.” 

“ I told you you couldn’t guess. What do you say to these beans; 
they’re magical, plant them over night and — ” 

“What! ” says Jack’s mother; “have you been such a fool, such 
a dolt, such an idiot, as to give away my Milky-white, the best milker 
in the parish, and prime beef to boot, for a set of paltry beans? 
Take that! Take that! Take that! And as for your precious 
beans, here they go out of the window. And now off with you to 


Fairy Stories and Nursery Tales 135 

bed. Not a sup shall you drink, and not a bit shall you swallow 
this very night.” 

So Jack went upstairs to his little room in the attic, and sad and 
sorry he was, to be sure, as much for his mother’s sake as for the 
loss of his supper. 

At last he dropped off to sleep. 

When he woke up, the room looked so funny. The sun was shin- 
ing into part of it, and yet all the rest was quite dark and shady. 
So Jack jumped up and dressed himself and went to the window. 
And what do you think he saw? Why, the beans his mother had 
thrown out of the window into the garden, had sprung up into a 
big beanstalk which went up and up and up till it reached the sky. 
So the man spoke truth after all. 

The beanstalk grew up quite close past Jack’s window, so all he 
had to do was to open it and give a jump on to the beanstalk, which 
ran up just like a big ladder. So Jack climbed, and he climbed 
and he climbed and he climbed and he climbed and he climbed and 
he climbed till at last he reached the sky. And when he got there 
he found a long, broad road going as straight as a dart. So he 
walked along and he walked along till he came to a great big tall 
house, and on the doorstep there was a great big tall woman. 

“ Good morning, mum,” says Jack, quite politely. “ Could you 
be so kind as to give me some breakfast? ” For he hadn’t had 
anything to eat, you know, the night before and was as hungry as 
a hunter. 

“ It’s breakfast you want, is it? ” says the great big tall woman; 
“ it’s breakfast you’ll be if you don’t move off from here. My man 
is an ogre and there’s nothing he likes better than boys broiled on 
toast. You’d better be moving on or he’ll soon be coming.” 

“ Oh ! please, mum, do give me something to eat, mum. I’ve had 
nothing to eat since yesterday morning, really and truly, mum,” says 
Jack. “ I may as well be broiled as die of hunger.” 

Well, the ogre’s wife was not half so bad after all. So she took 
Jack into the kitchen, and gave him a chunk of bread and cheese and 
a jug of milk. But Jack hadn’t half finished these when thump! 
thump! thump! the whole house began to tremble with the noise of 
some. one coming. 

“Good gracious me! It’s my old man,” said the ogre’s wife; 
“what on earth shall I do? Come along quick and jump in here.” 
And she bundled Jack into the oven just as the ogre came in. 

He was a big one, to be sure. At his belt he had three calves 


136 


Types of Childrens Literature 

strung up by the heels, and he unhooked them and threw them down 
on the table and said: “ Here, wife, broil me a couple of these for 
breakfast. Ah! what’s this I smell? 

“ Fee-fi-fo-fum, 

I smell the blood of an Englishman, 

Be he alive, or be he dead. 

I’ll have his bones to grind my bread.” 

“ Nonsense, dear,” said his wife, 44 you’re dreaming. Or perhaps 
you smell the scraps of that little boy you liked so much for yester- 
day’s dinner. Here, you go and have a wash and tidy up, and by 
the time you come back your breakfast’ll be ready for you.” 

So off the ogre went, and Jack was just going to jump out of the 
oven and run away when the woman told him not. * 44 Wait till he’s 
asleep,” says she; 44 he always has a doze after breakfast.” 

Well, the ogre had his breakfast, and after that he goes to a big 
chest and takes out of it a couple of bags of gold, and down he sits 
and counts till at last his head began to nod and he began to snore 
till the whole house shook again. 

Then Jack crept out on tiptoe from his oven, and as he was pass- 
ing the ogre he took one of the bags of gold under his arm, and off he 
pelters till he came to the beanstalk, arid then he threw down the bag 
of gold, which of course fell into his mother’s garden, and then he 
climbed down and climbed down till at last he got home and told 
his mother and showed her the gold and said: 44 Well, mother, 
wasn’t I right about the beans? They are really magical, you see.” 

So they lived on the bag of gold for some time, but at last they 
came to the end of it, and Jack made up his mind to try his luck once 
more at the top of the beanstalk. So one fine morning he rose up 
early, and got on to the beanstalk, and he climbed and he climbed 
and he climbed and he climbed and he climbed and he climbed till 
at last he came out on to the road again and up to the great big tall 
house he had been to before. There, sure enough, was the great 
big tall woman a-standing on the doorstep. 

44 Good morning, mum,” says Jack, as bold as brass, 44 could you 
be so good as to give me something to eat? ” 

44 Go away, my boy,” said the big tall woman, 44 or else my* man 
will eat you up for breakfast. But aren’t you the youngster who 
came here once before? Do you know, that very day, my man 
missed one of his bags of gold.” 

44 That’s strange, mum,” said Jack, 44 1 dare say I could tell you 


Fairy Stories and Nursery Tales 137 

something about that, but I’m so hungry I can’t speak till I’ve had 
something to eat.” 

Well, the big tall woman was so curious that she took him in and 
gave him something to eat. But he had scarcely begun munching 
it as slowly as he could when thump! thump! thump! they heard 
the giant’s footstep, and his wife hid Jack away in the oven. 

All happened as it did before. In came the ogre as he did before, 
said: “ Fee-fi-fo-fum,” and had his breakfast off three broiled oxen. 
Then he said: “ Wife, bring me the hen that lays the golden eggs.” 
So she brought it, and the ogre said: “ Lay,” and it laid an egg all 
of gold. And then the ogre began to nod his head, and to snore till 
the house shook. Then Jack crept out of the oven on tiptoe and 
caught hold of the golden hen, and was off before you could say 

Jack Robinson.” But this time the hen gave a cackle which woke 
the ogre, and just as Jack got out of the house he heard him calling: 
“ Wife, wife, what have you done with my golden hen? ” 

And the wife said: “Why, my dear? ” 

But that was all Jack heard, for he rushed off to the beanstalk and 
climbed down like a house on fire. And when he got home, he 
showed his mother the wonderful hen, and said “ Lay ” to it; and it 
laid a golden egg every time he said “ Lay.” 

Well, Jack was not content, and it wasn’t very long before he de- 
termined to have another try at his luck up there at the top of 
the beanstalk. So one fine morning he rose up early, and got on to 
the beanstalk, and he climbed and he climbed and he climbed and he 
climbed till he got to the top. But this time he knew better than 
to go straight to the ogre’s house. And when he got near it, he 
waited behind a bush till he saw the ogre’s wife come out with a pail 
to get some water, and then he crept into the house and got into the 
copper. He hadn’t been there long when he heard thump! thump! 
thump ! as before, and in came the ogre and his wife. 

“ Fee-fi-fo-fum, I smell the blood of an Englishman,” cried out the 
ogre. “ I smell him, wife, I smell him.” 

“Do you, my dearie? ” says the ogre’s wife. “Then if it’s that 
little rogue that stole your gold and the hen that laid the golden 
eggs he’s sure to have got into the oven.” And they both rushed to 
the oven. But Jack wasn’t there, luckily, and the ogre’s wife said: 
“ There you are again with your fee-fi-fo-fum. Why, of course it’s 
the boy you caught last night that I’ve just broiled for your breakfast. 
How forgetful I am, and how careless you are not to know the 
difference between live and dead after all these years.” 


138 


Types of Childrens Literature 

So the ogre sat down to the breakfast and ate it, but every now 
and then he would mutter: “Well, I could have sworn — ” and 
he’d get up and search the larder and the cupboards and every- 
thing; only, luckily, he didn’t, think of the copper. 

After breakfast was over, the ogre called out: “Wife, wife, 
bring me my golden harp.” So she brought it out and put it on 
the table before him. Then he said: “ Sing! ” and the golden harp 
sang most beautifully. And it went on singing till the ogre fell 
asleep and commenced to snore like thunder. 

Then Jack lifted up the copper-lid very quietly and got down 
like a mouse and crept on hands and knees till he came to the table, 
when up he crawled, caught hold of the golden harp and dashed with 
it towards the door. But the harp called out quite loud: “Master! 
Master! ” and the ogre woke up just in time to see Jack running off 
with his harp. 

Jack ran as fast as he could, and the ogre came rushing after, and 
would soon have caught him only Jack had a start and dodged him 
a bit and knew where he was going. When he got to the beanstalk 
the ogre was not more than twenty yards away when suddenly he saw 
Jack disappear-like, and when he came to the end of the road he 
saw Jack underneath climbing down for dear life. Well, the ogre 
didn’t like trusting himself to such a ladder, and he stood and waited, 
so Jack got another start. But just then the harp cried out: “ Mas- 
ter! Master! ” and the ogre swung himself down on to the bean- 
stalk, which shook with his weight. Down climbs Jack, and after 
him climbed the ogre. By this time Jack had climbed down and 
climbed down and climbed down till he was very nearly home. So 
he called out: “Mother! Mother! bring me an ax, bring me an 
ax.” And his mother came rushing out with the ax in her hand, 
but when she came to the beanstalk she stood stock still with fright, 
for there she saw the ogre with his legs just through the clouds. 

But Jack jumped down and got hold of the ax and gave a chop at 
the beanstalk which cut it half in two. The ogre felt the beanstalk 
shake and quiver, so he stopped to see what was the matter. Then 
Jack gave another chop with the ax, and the beanstalk was cut in 
two and began to topple over. Then the ogre fell down and broke 
his crown, and the beanstalk came toppling after. 

Then Jack showed his mother his golden harp, and what with 
showing that and selling the golden eggs, Jack and his mother be- 
came very rich, and he married a great princess, and they lived 
happy ever after. 


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Fairy Stories and Nursery Tales 

THE ELVES 

Jacob and Wilhelm Grimm 


A shoemaker, by no fault of his own, had become so poor that 
at last he had nothing left but leather for one pair of shoes. So 
in the evening, he cut out the shoes which he wished to begin to 
make the next morning, and as he had a good conscience, he lay 
down quietly in his bed, commended himself to God, and fell 
asleep. 

In the morning, after he had said his prayers, and was just going 
to sit down to work, the two shoes stood quite finished on his table. 
He was astounded, and did not know what to say to it. He took 
the shoes in his hands to observe them closer, and they were so neatly 
made that there was not one bad stitch in them, just as if they were 
intended as a masterpiece. 

Soon after, too, a buyer came in, and as the shoes pleased him so 
well, he paid more for them than was customary, and, with the 
money, the shoemaker was able to purchase leather for two pairs of 
shoes. He cut them out at night, and next morning was about to set 
to work with fresh courage; but he had no need to do so, for, when 
he got up, they were already made, and buyers also were not 
wanting, who gave him money enough to buy leather for four pairs 
of shoes. The following morning, too, he found, the four pairs 
made; and so it went on constantly, what he cut out in the evening 
was finished in the morning, so that he soon had his honest in- 
dependence again, and at last became a wealthy man. 

Now it befell that one evening not long before Christmas, when 
the man had been cutting out, he said to his wife, before going to 
bed, “ What think you if we were to stay up. tonight to see who it is 
that lends us this helping hand?” The woman liked the idea, and 
lighted a candle, and then they hid themselves in a corner of the 
room, behind some clothes which were hanging up there, and watched. 

When it was midnight, two pretty little naked men came, sat down 
by the shoemaker’s table, took all the work which was cut out before 
them and began to stitch, and sew, and hammer so skillfully and 
so quickly with their little fingers that the shoemaker could not turn 
away his eyes for astonishment. They did not stop until all was 
done and stood finished on the table, and then they ran quickly 
away. 

Next morning the woman said, “ The little men have made us rich, 


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Types of Children s Literature 

and we really must show that we are grateful for it. They run 
about so, and have nothing on, and must be cold. I’ll tell thee 
what I’ll do: I will make them little shirts, and coats, and vests, 
and trousers, and knit both of them a pair of stockings, and do thou, 
too, make them iwo little pairs of shoes.” The man said, “ I shall 
be very glad to do it; ” and one night, when everything was ready, 
they laid their presents all together on the table instead of the cut- 
out work, and then concealed themselves to see how the little men 
would behave. 

At midnight they came bounding in, and wanted to get at work at 
once, but as they did not find any leather cut out, but only the pretty 
little articles of clothing, they were at first astonished, and then they 
showed intense delight. They dressed themselves with the greatest 
rapidity, putting the pretty clothes on, and singing, 

“ Now we are boys so fine to see, 

Why should we longer cobblers be? ” 

Then they danced and skipped and leapt over chairs and benches. 
At last they danced out of doors. 

From that time forth they came no more, but as long as the shoe- 
maker lived all went well with him, and all his undertakings pros- 
pered. 

THE FROG-PRINCE 
Jacob and Wilhelm Grimm 

One fine evening a young princess went into a wood and sat down 
by the side of a cool spring of water. She had a golden ball in 
her hand, which was her favorite plaything, and she amused herself 
with tossing it into the air and catching it again as it fell. After 
a time she threw it up so high that when she stretched out her 
hand to catch it, the ball bounded away and rolled along upon the 
ground, till at last it fell into the spring. The princess looked into 
the spring after her ball; but it was very deep, so deep that she could 
not see the bottom of it. Then she began to lament her loss, and 
said, “Alas! if I could only get my ball again, I would give all my 
fine clothes and jewels, and everything that I have in the world.” 

While she was speaking a frog put its head out of the water and 
said, “Princess, why do you weep so bitterly?” “Alas!” said 
she, “what can you do for me, you nasty frog? My golden ball 
has fallen into the spring.” The frog said, “ I want not your pearls 


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Fairy Stories and Nursery Tales 

and jewels and fine clothes; but if you will love me and let me live 
with you, and eat from your little golden plate, and sleep upon your 
little bed, I will bring you your ball again.” “ What nonsense,” 
thought the princess, “ this silly frog is talking! He can never get 
out of the well: however, he may be able to get my ball for me; and 
therefore I will promise him what he asks.” So she said to the frog, 
“ Well, if you will bring me my ball, I promise to do all you re- 
quire.” 

Then the frog put his head down, and dived deep under the water; 
and after a little while he came up again with the ball in his mouth, 
and threw it on the ground. As soon as the young princess saw her 
ball, she ran to pick it up, and was so overjoyed to have it in her 
hand again, that she never thought of the frog, but ran home with 
it as fast as she could. The frog called after her, “ Stay, princess, 
and take me with you as you promised; ” but she did not stop to 
hear a word. 

The next day, just as the princess had sat down to dinner, she 
heard a strange noise, tap-tap, as if somebody was coming up the 
marble staircase; and soon afterwards something knocked gently at 
the door, and said: 

“ Open the door, my princess dear, 

Open the door to thy true love here! 

And mind the words that thou and I said. 

By the fountain cool in the greenwood shade.” 

Then the princess ran to the door and opened it, and there she 
saw the frog, whom she had quite forgotten; she was terribly fright- 
ened, and shutting the door as fast as she could, came back to her 
seat. The king her father asked her what had frightened her. 
“ There is a nasty frog,” said she, “ at the door, who lifted my ball 
out of the spring last evening: I promised him that he should live 
with me here, thinking that he could never get out of the spring; 
but there he is at the door and wants to come in ! ” While she was 
speaking, the frog knocked again at the door, and said : 

“ Open the door, my princess dear, 

Open the door to thy true love here! 

And mind the words that thou and I said, 

By the fountain cool in the greenwood shade.” 

The king said to the young princess, “As you have made a 
promise, you must keep it; so go and let him in. She did so, and 


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Types of Children s Literature 

the frog hopped into the room, and came up close to the table. 
“ Pray lift me upon a chair,” said he to the princess, “ and let me sit 
next to you.” As soon as she had done this, the frog said, “ Put 
your plate closer to me that I may eat out of it.” This she did, 
and when he had eaten as much as he could, he said, 44 Now I am 
tired; carry me upstairs and put me into your little bed.” And the 
princess took him up in her hand and put him upon the pillow of 
her own little bed, where he slept all night long. As soon as it 
was light, he jumped up, hopped downstairs, and went out of the 
house. 44 Now,” thought the princess, 44 he is gone, and I shall be 
troubled with him no more.” 

But she was mistaken; for when night came again, she heard the 
same tapping at the door, and when she opened it, the frog came 
in and slept upon her pillow as before till the morning broke: 
and the third night he did the same; but when the princess awoke 
on the following morning, she was astonished to see, instead of the 
frog, a handsome prince standing at the head of her bed, and gazing 
on her with the most beautiful eyes that ever were seen. 

He told her that he had been enchanted by a malicious fairy, who 
had changed him into the form of a frog, in which he was fated to 
remain till some princess should take him out of the spring and let 
him sleep upon her bed for three nights. “You,” said the prince, 
44 have broken this cruel charm, and now I have nothing to wish for 
but that you should go with me into my father’s kingdom, where I 
will marry you, and love you as long as you live.” 

The young princess, you may be sure, was not long in giving her 
consent; and as they spoke, a splendid carriage drove up with eight 
beautiful horses decked with plumes of feathers and golden har- 
ness, and behind rode the prince’s servant, the faithful Henry, who 
had bewailed the misfortune of his dear master so long and bitterly 
that his heart had well-nigh burst. Then all set out full of joy 
for the prince’s kingdom, where they arrived safely, and lived hap- 
pily a great many years. 

THE QUERN AT THE BOTTOM OF THE SEA 
Peter Christen Asbj^rnsen 

Once upon a time in the old, old days there were two brothers, one 
of whom was rich and the other poor. When Christmas Eve came 
the poor brother had not a morsel in the house, neither of meat nor 


143 


Fairy Stories and Nursery Tales 

bread; and so he went to his rich brother, and asked for a trifle 
for Christmas, in heaven’s name. It was not the first time the 
brother had helped him, but he was always very close-fisted, and was 
not particularly glad to see him this time. 

“ If you’ll do what I tell you, you shall have a whole ham,” he 
said. The poor brother promised he would, and was very grateful 
into the bargain. 

“ There it is, and now go to the devil ! ” said the rich brother, 
and threw the ham across to him. 

“ Well, what I have promised I must keep,” said the other one. 
He took the ham, and set out. He walked and walked the whole day, 
and as it was getting dark he came to a place where the lights were 
shining brightly. “ This is most likely the place,” thought the man 
with the ham. 

In the woodshed stood an old man with a long white beard, cut- 
ting firewood for Christmas. 

“ Good evening,” said he with the ham. 

“ Good evening to you,” said the man. “ Where are you going 
so late? ” 

“ I am going to the devil — that is to say, if I am on the right 
way,” answered the poor man. 

“Yes, you are quite right; this is his place,” said the old man. 
“ When you get in they will all want to buy your ham, for ham is 
scarce food here; but you must not sell it unless you get the hand- 
quern, which stands just behind the door. When you come out 
again I’ll teach you how to use it. You will find it useful in many 
ways.” 

The man with the ham thanked him for all the information and 
knocked at the door. 

When he got in it happened just as the old man had said. All 
the imps, both big and small, flocked around him like ants in a field, 
and the one outbid the other for the ham. 

6 Well,” said the man, “ my good woman and I were to have it 
for Christmas Eve, but since you want it so badly I will let you 
have it. But if I am going to part with it, I want that hand-quern 
which stands behind the door.” 

The devil did not like to part with it, and higgled and haggled 
with the man, but he stuck to what he had said, and in the end the 
devil had to part with the quern. 

When the man came out ho asked the old woodcutter how he was 
to use the quern, and when he had learned this, he thanked the old 


144 


Types of Children s Literature 

man and set out homeward, as quickly as he could; but after all he 
did not get home till the clock struck twelve on Christmas Eve. 

“ Where in all the world have you been? ” said his wife. “ Here 
have I been sitting, hour after hour, waiting and watching for you, 
and have not had as much as two chips to lay under the porridge 
pot.” 

“ Well, I couldn’t get back before,” said the man. “ I have had 
a good many things to look after, and I’ve had a long way to walk 
as well; but now I’ll show you something,” said he, and he put the 
quern on the table. He asked it first to grind candles, then a cloth, 
and then food and beer, and everything else that was good for Christ- 
mas cheer; and as he spoke the quern brought them forth. The 
woman crossed herself time after time and wanted to know 
where her husband had got the quern from; but this he would not 
tell her. 

“ It does not matter where I got it from; you see the quern is good 
and the mill stream is not likely to freeze,” said the man. So he 
ground food and drink and all good things during Christmas; and 
the third day he invited his friends, as he wanted to give them a 
feast. When the rich brother saw all that was in the house, he be- 
came both angry and furious, for he begrudged his brother every- 
thing. 

“ On Christmas Eve he was so needy that he came to me and asked 
for a trifle in heaven’s name; and now he gives a feast, as if he were 
both a count and a king,” said the brother. “ Where did you get 
all your riches from? ” he said to his brother. 

“ From just behind the door,” he answered, for he did not care 
to tell his brother much about it. But later in the evening, when 
he had drunk a little freely, he could no longer resist, but brought 
out the quern. 

“There you see that which has brought me all my riches,” 
he said, and so he let the quern grind first one thing and then 
another. 

When the brother saw this he was determined to have the quern 
at all cost, and at last it was settled he should have it, but three 
hundred dollars was to be the price of it. The brother was, how- 
ever, to keep it till the harvest began; “for if I keep it so long I 
can grind out food for many years to come,” he thought. 

During that time you may be sure the quern did not rust, and 
when the harvest began the rich brother got it; but the other had 
taken great care not to show him how to use it. 


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Fairy Stories and Nursery Tales 

It was evening when the rich brother got the quern home, and in 
the morning he asked his wife to go out and help the haymakers; 
he would get the breakfast ready for himself, he said. 

When it was near breakfast time he put the quern on the break- 
fast table. 

“ Grind herrings and broth, and do it quickly and well,” said the 
man, and the quern began to bring forth herrings and broth, and 
first filled all the dishes and tubs, and afterward began flooding the 
whole kitchen. 

The man fiddled and fumbled and tried to stop the quern, but 
however much he twisted and fingered it, the quern went on grinding, 
and in a little while the broth reached so high that the man was 
very near drowning. He then pulled open the parlor door, but it 
was not very long before the quern had filled the parlor also, and 
it was just in the very nick of time that the man put his hand down 
into the broth and got hold of the latch, and when he had got the 
door open, he was soon out of the parlor, you may be sure. He 
rushed out, and the herrings and the broth came pouring out after 
him, like a stream, down the fields and meadows. 

The wife, who was out haymaking, now thought it took too long a 
time to get the breakfast ready. 

“ If my husband doesn’t call us soon we must go home whether 
or no: I don’t suppose he knows much about making broth, so I 
must go and help him,” said the wife to the haymakers. 

They began walking homeward, but when they had got a bit up the 
hill they met the stream of broth with the herrings tossing about 
in it and the man himself running in front of it all. 

“ I wish all of you had a hundred stomachs each! ” shouted the 
man; “ but take care you don’t get drowned.” And he rushed past 
them as if the Evil One were at his heels, down to where his brother 
lived. He asked him for heaven’s sake to take back the quern, and 
that at once; “ if it goes on grinding another hour the whole parish 
will perish in broth and herrings,” he said. But the brother would 
not take it back on any account before his brother had paid him 
three hundred dollars more, and this he had to do. The poor 
brother now had plenty of money, and before long he bought a farm 
much grander than the one on which his rich brother lived, and 
with the quern he ground so much gold that he covered the farm- 
stead with gold plates, and, as it lay close to the shore, it glittered 
and shone far out at sea. All those who sailed past wanted to 
call and visit the rich man in the golden house, and everybody 


146 


Types of Children s Literature 

wanted to see the wonderful quern, for its fame had spread far and 
wide, and there was no one who had not heard it spoken of. 

After a long while there came a skipper who wanted to see the 
quern; he asked if it could grind salt. Yes, that it could, said he 
who owned it; and when the skipper heard this he wanted the quern 
by hook or crook, cost what it might, for if he had it he thought he 
need not sail far away across dangerous seas for cargoes of salt. 

At first the man did not want to part with it, but the skipper both 
begged and prayed, and at last he sold it and got many, many thou- 
sand dollars for it. 

As soon as the skipper had got the quern on his back, he did not 
stop long, for he was afraid the man would change his mind, and 
as for asking how to use it he had no time to do that; he made for his 
ship as quickly as he could, and when he had got out to sea a bit 
he had the quern brought up on deck. 

“Grind salt, and that both quickly and well,” said the skipper, 
and the quern began to grind out salt so that it spurted to all sides. 

When the skipper had got the ship filled he wanted to stop the 
quern, but however much he tried and whatever he did the quern 
went on grinding, and the mound of salt grew higher and higher, 
and at last the ship sank. 

There at the bottom of the sea stands the quern grinding till this 
very day, and that is the reason why the sea is salt. 

BROTHER RABBIT AND BROTHER BULL-FROG 1 
Joel Chandler Harris 

The day that the little boy got permission to go to mill with Uncle 
Remus was to be long remembered. It was a brand-new experience 
to the little city -bred child, and he enjoyed it to the utmost. It is 
true that Uncle Remus didn’t go to mill in the old-fashioned way, 
but even if the little chap had known of the old-fashioned way, his 
enjoyment would not have been less. Instead of throwing a bag 
of corn on the back of a horse, and perching himself on top in an 
uneasy and a precarious position, Uncle Remus placed the corn in a 
spring wagon, helped the little boy to climb into the seat, clucked to 
the horse, and went along as smoothly and as rapidly as though they 
were going to town. 

1 From Told by Uncle Remus. Copyright, 1903-1904-1905, by Joel Chand- 
ler Harris. Published by Doubleday, Page & Co., Garden City New York. 
Used by permission of the publishers. 


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Fairy Stories and Nursery Tales 

Everything was new to the lad — the road, the scenery, the mill, 
and the big mill pond, and, best of all, Uncle Remus allowed him to 
enjoy himself in his own way when they came to the end of the 
journey. He was such a cautious and timid child, having little or 
none of the spirit of adventure that is supposed to dominate the 
young, that the old negro was sure he would come to no harm. In- 
stead of wandering about, and going to places where he had no busi- 
ness to go, the little boy sat where he could see the water flowing 
over the big dam. He had never seen such a sight before, and the 
water seemed to him to have a personality of its own — a person- 
ality with both purpose and feeling. 

The river was not a very large one, but it was large enough to be 
impressive when its waters fell and tumbled over the big dam. The 
little boy watched the tumbling water as it fell over the dam and 
tossed itself into foam on the rocks below; he watched it so long 
and he sat so still that he was able to see things that a noisier 
youngster would have missed altogether. He saw a big bull-frog 
creep warily from the water and wipe his mouth and eyes with one 
of his fore legs, and he saw the same frog edge himself softly toward 
a white butterfly that was flitting about near the edge of the stream. 
He saw the frog lean forward, and then the butterfly vanished. It 
seemed like a piece of magic. The child knew that the frog had 
caught the butterfly, but how? The fluttering insect was more than 
a foot from the frog when it disappeared, and he was sure that the 
frog had neither jumped nor snapped at the butterfly. What he saw, 
he saw as plainly as you see your hand in the light of day. 

And he saw another sight too that is not given to every one to 
see. While he was watching the tumbling water and wondering 
where it all came from and where it was going, he thought he saw 
swift-moving shadows flitting from the water below up and into 
the mill pond above. He never would have been able to discover 
just what the shadows were if one of them had not paused a 
moment while halfway to the top of the falling water. It poised 
itself for one brief instant, as a humming-bird poises over a flower, 
but during that fraction of time the little boy was able to see that 
what he thought was a shadow was really a fish going from the 
water below to the mill pond above. The child could hardly be- 
lieve his eyes, and for a little while it seemed that the whole world 
was turned topsy-turvy, especially as the shadows continued to flit 
from the water below to the mill pond above. 

And he was still more puzzled when he reported the strange 


148 


Types of Children s Literature 

fact to Uncle Remus, for the old negro took the information as a 
matter of course. With him the phenomenon was almost as old as 
his experience. The only explanation that he could give of it was 
that the fish — or some kinds of fish, and he didn’t know rightly 
what kind it was — had a habit of falling from the bottom of the 
falls to the top. The most that he knew was that it was a fact, 
and that it was occurring every day in the year when the fish were 
running. It was certainly wonderful, as in fact everything would be 
wonderful if it were not so familiar. 

“ We ain’t got but one way er lookin’ at things,” remarked Uncle 
Remus, “ an’ ef you’ll b’lieve me, honey, it’s a mighty one-sided way. 
Ef you could git on a perch some’rs an’ see things like dey reely is, 
an’ not like dey seem ter us, I be boun’ you’d hoi’ yo’ breff an’ shet 
yo’ eyes.” 

The old man, without intending it, was going too deep into a deep 
subject for the child to follow him, and so the latter told him about 
the bull-frog and the butterfly. The statement seemed to call up 
pleasing reminiscences, for Uncle Remus laughed in a hearty way. 
And when his laughing had subsided, he continued to chuckle until 
the little boy wondered what the source of his amusement could 
be. Finally he asked the old negro point blank what had caused him 
to laugh at such a rate. 

“ Yo’ pa would ’a’ know’d,” Uncle Remus replied, and then he 
grew solemn again and sighed heavily. For a little while he seemed 
to be listening to the clatter of the mill, but, finally, he turned to the 
little boy. “ An’ so you done made de ’quaintance er ol’ Brer Bull- 
Frog? Is you take notice whedder he had a tail er no? ” 

“ Why, of course he didn’t have a tail ! ” exclaimed the child. 
“ Neither toad-frogs nor bull-frogs have tails. I thought every- 
body knew that.” 

“ Oh, well, ef dat de way you feel ’bout um, ’taint no use fer ter 
pester wid um. It done got so now dat folks don’t b’lieve nothin’ 
but what dey kin see, an’ mo’ dan half un um won’t b’lieve what dey 
see less’n dey kin feel un it too. But dat ain’t de way wid dem 
what’s ol’ ’nough fer ter know. Ef I’d ’a’ tol’ you ’bout de fishes 
owimmin’ ag’in failin’ water, you wouldn’t ’a’ b’lieved me, would 
you? No, you wouldn’t — an’ yet, dar ’twuz right ’fo’ yo’ face an’ 
eyes. Dar dey wuz a-skeetin’ fum de bottom er de dam right up in 
de mill pon’, an’ you settin’ dar lookin’ at um. S’posin’ you wuz ter 
say dat you won’t b’lieve um less’n you kin feel um; does you speck 
de fish gwineter hang dar in de failin’ water an’ wait twel you kin 


149 


Fairy Stories and Nursery Tales 

wade ’cross de slipp’y rocks an’ put yo’ han’ on um? Did you look 
right close, fer ter see ef de bull-frog what you seed is got a tail 
er no? ” 

The little boy admitted that he had not. He knew as well as 
anybody that no kind of a frog has a tail unless it is the Texas frog, 
which is only a horned lizard, for he saw one once in Atlanta, and 
it was nothing but a rusty-back lizard with a horn on his head. 

44 1 ain’t ’sputin’ what you say, honey,” said Uncle Remus, “ but 
de creetur what you seed mought ’a’ been a frog an’ you not know 
it. One thing I does know is dat in times gone by de bull-frog had 
a tail, kaze I hear de oF folks sesso, an’ mo’ dan dat, dey know’d 
des how he los’ it — de whar, an’ de when an’ de which-away. Fer 
all I know it wuz right here at dish yer identual mill pon’. I ain’t 
gwine inter court an’ make no affledave on it, but ef anybody wuz 
ter walk up an’ p’int der finger at me, an’ say dat dis is de place 
where ol’ Brer Bull-Frog lose his tail, I’d up and ’low, 4 Yasser, it 
mus’ be de place, kaze it look might’ly like de place what I been 
hear tell ’bout.’ An’ den I’d set my eyes an’ see ef I can’t git it 
straight in my dreams.” 

Uncle Remus paused and pretended to be counting a handful of 
red grains of corn that he had found somewhere in the mill. See- 
ing that he showed no disposition to tell how Brother Bull-Frog had 
lost his tail, the little boy reminded him of it. But the old man 
laughed. 44 Ef Brer Bull-Frog ain’t never had no tail,” he said, 
44 how de name er goodness he gwineter lose un? Ef he yever is had 
a tail, why den dat’s a gray hoss uv an’er color. Dey’s a tale ’bout 
’im havin’ a tail an’ losin’ it, but how kin dey be a tale when dey 
ain’t no tail? ” 

Well, the little boy didn’t know at all, and he looked so discon- 
solate and so confused that the old negro relented. 44 Now, den,” 
he remarked, 44 ef ol’ Brer Bull-Frog had a tail an’ he ain’t got none 
now, dey must ’a’ been sump’n happen. In dem times — de times 
what all deze tales tells you ’bout — Brer Bull-Frog stayed in an’ 
aroun’ still water des like he do now. De bad col’ dat he had in 
dem days, he’s got it yit — de same pop-eyes, and de same bal’ 
head. Den, ez now, dey wa’n’t a bunch er ha’r on it dat you could 
pull out wid a pa’r er tweezers. Ez he bellers now, des dat a-way 
he bellered den, mo’ speshually at night. An’ talk ’bout settin’ up 
late — why, ol’ Brer Bull-Frog could beat dem what fust got in de 
habits er settin’ up late. 

44 Dey’s one thing dat you’ll hatter gi’ ’im credit fer, an’ dat wuz 


150 


Types of Children s Literature 

keepin’ his face an’ han’s clean, an’ in takin’ keer er his cloze. No- 
body, not even his mammy, had ter patch his britches er tack buttons 
on his coat. See ’im whar you may an’ when you mought, he wuz 
allers lookin’ spick an’ span des like he done come right out’n a ban’- 
box. You know what de riddle say ’bout ’im: when he stan’ up he 
sets down, an’ when he walks he hops. He’d ’a’ been mighty well 
thunk un, ef it hadn’t but ’a’ been fer his habits. He holler so 
much at night dat de yuther creeturs can’t git no sleep. He’d holler 
an’ holler, an’ ’bout de time you think he bleeze ter be ’shame’ er 
hollerin’ so much, he’d up an’ holler ’gi’n. It got so dat de cree- 
turs hatter go ’way off some’rs ef dey wanter git any sleep, an’ it 
seem like dey can’t git so fur off but what Brer Bull-Frog would wake 
um up time dey git ter dozin’ good. 

“He’d raise up an’ low, 6 Here I is! Here l is! Wharbouts is 
you? Wharbouts is you? Come along! Come along! ’ It ’uz 
des dat a-way de whole blessed night, an’ de yuther creeturs, dey say 
dat it sholy was a shame dat anybody would set right flat-footed an’ 
ruin der good name. Look like he pestered ev’ybody but ol’ Brer 
Rabbit, an’ de reason dat he liked it wuz kaze it worried de yuther 
creeturs. He’d set an’ lissen, ol’ Brer Rabbit would, an’ den he’d 
laugh fit ter kill kaze he ain’t a-keerin’ whedder er no he git any sleep 
or not. Ef dey’s anybody what kin set up twel de las’ day in de 
mornin’ an’ not git red-eyed an’ heavy-headed, it’s ol’ Brer Rabbit. 
When he wanter sleep, he’d des shet one eye an’ sleep, an’ when he 
wanter stay ’wake, he’d des open bofe eyes, an’ dar he wuz wid all 
his foots under ’im, an’ a-chawin’ his terbacker same ez ef dey 
wa’n’t no Brer Bull-Frog in de whole Nunited State er Georgy. 

“ It went on dis way fer I dunner how long — ol’ Brer Bull-Frog 
a-bellerin’ all night long an’ keepin’ de yuther creeturs ’wake, an’ 
Brer Rabbit a-laughin’. But, bimeby, de time come when Brer 
Rabbit hatter lay in some mo’ calamus root, ag’in de time when ’t 
would be too col’ ter dig it, an’ when he went fer ter hunt fer it, 
his way led ’im down todes de mill pon’ whar Brer Bull-Frog live 
at. Dey wuz calamus root a-plenty down dar, an’ Brer Rabbit, atter 
lookin’ de groun’ over, promise hisse’f dat he’d fetch a basket de nex’ 
time he come, an’ make one trip do fer two. He ain’t been dar long 
’fo’ he had a good chance fer ter hear Brer Bull-Frog at close range. 
He hear him, he did, an’ he shake his head an’ say dat a mighty 
little bit er dat music would go a long ways, kaze dey ain’t nobody 
what kin stan’ flat-footed an’ say dat Brer Bull-Frog is a better singer 
dan de mockin’-bird. 


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Fairy Stories and Nursery Tales 

“ Well, whiles Brer Rabbit wuz pirootin’ roun’ fer ter see what 
inought be seed, he git de idee dat he kin hear thunder way off yander. 
He lissen agin, an’ he hear Brer Bull-Frog mumblin’ an’ grumblin’ 
ter hisse’f, an’ he must ’a’ had a mighty bad col’, kaze his talk soun’ 
des like a bummil-eye bee been kotch in a sugar-barrel an’ can’t git 
out. An dat creetur must ’a’ know’d dat Brer Rabbit wuz down in 
dem neighborhoods, kaze, atter while, he ’gun to talk louder, an’ yit 
mo’ louder. He say, 4 W har you gwine? Whar you gwine? 9 an’ 
den, 4 Don’t go too jur — don’t go too fur! ’ an’, atter so long a time, 
4 Come back — come back! Come back soon! 9 Brer Rabbit, he sot 
dar, he did, an’ work his nose an’ wiggle his mouf, an’ wait fer ter 
see what gwineter happen nex’. 

44 Whiles Brer Rabbit settin’ dar, Brer Bull-Frog fall ter mum- 
blin’ ag’in an’ it look like he ’bout ter drap off ter sleep, but bimeby 
he talk louder, 4 Be my frien — be my frien’! Oh, be my frien’ ! 9 
Brer Rabbit wunk one eye an’ smole a smile, kaze he done hear a 
heap er talk like dat. He wipe his face an’ eyes wid his poeket- 
hankcher, an’ sot so still dat you’d ’a’ thunk he wa’n’t nothin’ but a 
chunk er wood. But Brer Bull-Frog, he know’d how ter stay still 
hisse’f, an’ he ain’t so much ez bubble a bubble. But atter whiles, 
when Brer Rabbit can’t stay still no mo,’ he got up fum whar he wuz 
settin’ at an’ mosied out by de mill-race whar de grass is fresh an’ de 
trees is green. 

44 Brer Bull-Frog holla, 4 Jug-er-rum — jug-er-rum! Wade in 
here — I’ll gi 9 you some ! 9 Now der nothin’ dat ol’ Brer Rabbit 
like better dan a little bit er dram fer de stomach-ache, an’ his mouf 
'gun ter water right den an’ dar. He went a little closer ter de mill 
pon’, an’ Brer Bull-Frog keep on a-talkin’ ’bout de jug er rum, 
an’ what he gwine do ef Brer Rabbit will wade in dar. He look at 
de water, an’ it look mighty col’; he look ag’in an’ it look mighty 
deep. It say, 4 Lap-lap ! ’ an’ it look like it’s a-creepin’ higher. 
Brer Rabbit drawed back wid a shiver, an’ he wish mighty much dat 
he’d a fotch his overcoat. 

44 Brer Bull-Frog say, 4 Knee deep — knee deep! Wade in — 
wade in! 9 an’ he make de water bubble des like he takin’ a dram. 
Den an’ dar, sump’n n’er happen, an’ how it come ter happen Brer 
Rabbit never kin tell; but he peeped in de pon’ fer ter see ef he kin 
ketch a glimp er de jug, an’ in he went — kerchug! He ain’t never 
know whedder he fall in, er slip in, er ef he was pushed in, but 
dar he wuz! He come mighty nigh not gittin’ out; but he scramble 
an’ he scuffle twel he git back ter de bank whar he kin dim’ out, 


152 


Types of Childrens Literature 

an’ he stood dar, he did, an’ kinder shuck hisse’f, kaze he mighty 
glad fer ter fin’ dat he’s in de worl’ once mo’. He know’d dat a 
lettel mo’ an’ he’d ’a’ been gone fer good, kaze when he drapped in, 
er jumped in, er fell in, he wuz over his head an years, an he 
hatter do a sight er kickin’ an’ scufflin’ an’ swallerin’ water ’fo’ he kin 
git whar he kin grab de grass on de bank. 

“ He sneeze an’ snoze, an’ wheeze an’ whoze, twel it look like he’d 
drown right whar he wuz stan’in’ anyway you kin fix it. He say ter 
hisse’f dat he ain’t never gwineter git de tas’e er river water outer 
his mouf an’ nose, an’ he wonder how in de worl’ dat plain water 
kin be so watery. 01’ Brer Bull-Frog, he laugh like a bull in de 
pastur’, an’ Brer Rabbit gi’ a sidelong look dat oughter tol’ ’im ez 
much ez a map kin tell one er deze yer school scholars. Brer Rab- 
bit look at ’im, but he ain’t say narry a word. He des shuck hisse’f 
once mo’, an’ put out fer home whar he kin set in front er de fire 
an’ git dry. 

“ Atter dat day, Brer Rabbit riz mighty soon an’ went ter bed late, 
an’ he watch Brer Bull-Frog so close dat dey wa’n’t nothin’ he kin do 
but what Brer Rabbit know’ ’bout it time it ’uz done; an’ one 
thing he know’d better dan all — he know’ dat when de winter time 
come Brer Bull-Frog would have ter pack up his duds an’ move over 
in de bog whar de water don’t git friz up. Dat much he know’d, an’ 
when dat time come, he laid off fer ter make Brer Bull-Frog’s jour- 
ney, short ez it wuz, ez full er hap’nin’s ez de day when de ol’ cow 
went dry. He tuck an’ move his bed an’ board ter de big holler 
poplar, not fur fum de mill pon’, an’ dar he stayed an’ keep one eye 
on Brer Bull-Frog bofe night an’ day. He ain’t lose no flesh whiles 
he waitin’, kaze he ain’t one er deze yer kin’ what mopes an’ gits 
sollumcolly; he wuz all de time betwixt a grin an’ a giggle. 

“ He know’d mighty well — none better — dat time goes by turns 
in deze low groun’s, an’ he wait fer de day when Brer Bull-Frog 
gwineter move his belongin’s fum pon’ ter bog. An’ bimeby dat 
time come, an’ when it come, Brer Bull-Frog is done fergit off’n his 
mind all ’bout Brer Rabbit an’ his splashification. He rig hisse’f 
out in his Sunday best, an’ he look kerscrumptious ter dem what like 
dat kinder doin’s. He had on a little sojer hat wid green an’ white 
speckles all over it, an’ a long green coat, an’ satin britches, an’ 
a white silk wescut, an’ shoes wid silver buckles. Mo’ dan dat, he 
had a green umbrell fer ter keep fum havin’ freckles, an’ his long 
spotted tail wuz done up in de umbrell kivver so dat it won’t drag on 
de groun’.” 


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Fairy Stories and Nursery Tales 

Uncle Remus paused to see what the little boy would say to this 
last statement, but the child’s training prevented the asking of many 
questions, and so he only laughed at the idea of a frog with a tail, 
and the tail done up in the cover of a green umbrella. The laughter 
of the youngster was hearty enough to satisfy the old negro, and he 
went on with the story. 

“ Whiles all dis goin’ on, honey, you better b’lieve dat Brer Rab- 
bit wa’n’t so mighty fur fum dar. When Brer Bull-Frog come out 
an’ start fer ter promenade ter de bog, Brer Rabbit show hisse’f an’ 
make like he skeered. He broke an’ run, an’ den he stop fer ter see 
what ’tis — an’ den he run a leetle ways an’ stop ag’in, an’ he keep on 
dodgin’ an’ runnin’ twel he fool Brer Bull-Frog inter b’lievin’ dat he 
wuz skeer’d mighty nigh ter death. 

“ You know how folks does when dey git de idee dat somebody’s 
feared un um — ef you don’t you’ll fin’ out long ’fo’ yo’ whiskers gits 
ter hangin’ to yo’ knees. When folks take up dis idee, dey gits 
biggity, an’ dey ain’t no stayin’ in de same country wid um. 

“ Well, Brer Bull-Frog, he git de idee dat Brer Rabbit wuz ’fear’d 
un ’im, an’ he shuck his umbrell like he mad, an’ he beller: 4 Whar 
my gun? ’ Brer Rabbit flung up bofe han’s like he wuz skeer’d er 
gittin’ a load er shot in his vitals, an’ den he broke an’ run ez hard 
ez he kin. Brer Bull-Frog holler out, ‘ Come yer, you vilyun, an’ 
le’ me’ gi’ you de frailin’ what I done promise you! ’ but ol’ Brer 
Rabbit, he keep on a-gwine. . Brer Bull-Frog went hoppin’ atter, 
but he ain’t make much headway, kaze all de time he wuz hoppin’ 
he wuz tryin’ to strut. 

“ ’Twuz e’en about ez much ez Brer Rabbit kin do ter keep fum 
laughin’, but he led Brer Bull-Frog ter de holler poplar, whar he 
had his hatchet hid. Ez he went in’ he Tow, ‘You can’t git me! ’ 
He went in, he did, an’ out he popped on t’er side. By dat time 
Brer Bull-Frog wuz mighty certain an’ sho dat Brer Rabbit wuz 
skeer’d ez he kin be, an’ inter de holler he went, widout so much ez 
takin’ de trouble ter shet up his umbrell. When he got in de holler, 
in co’se he ain’t see hide ner ha’r er Brer Rabbit, an’ he beller out, 

‘ Whar is you? You may hide, but I’ll fin’ you, an’ when I does 
— when I does! ’ He ain’t say all he wanter say, kaze by dat time 
Brer Rabbit wuz lammin’ on de tree wid his hatchet. He hit it some 
mighty heavy whacks, an’ Brer Bull-Frog git de idee dat somebody 
wuz cuttin’ it down. 

“ Dat kinder skeer’d ’im, kaze he know dat ef de tree fell while he 
in de holler, it’d be all-night Isom wid him. But when he make a 


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Types of Childrens Literature 

move fer ter turn roun’ in dar fer ter come out, Brer Rabbit run 
roun’ ter whar he wuz, an’ chop his tail off right smick-smack- 
smoove.” 

The veteran story-teller paused, and looked at the clouds that 
were gathering in the sky. “ ’Twouldn’t ’stonish me none,” he 
remarked dryly, “ ef we wuz ter have some failin’ wedder.” 

“ But, Uncle Remus, what happened when Brother Rabbit cut off 
the Bull-Frog’s tail? ” inquired the little boy. 

The old man sighed heavily, and looked around, as if he were 
hunting for some way of escape. “ Why, honey, when de Frog tail 
wuz cut off, it stayed off, but dey tells me dat it kep’ on a wigglin’ 
plum twel de sun went down. Dis much I does know, dat sence 
dat day, none er de Frog fambly has been troubled wid tails. Ef 
you don’t believe me you kin ketch um an’ see.” 


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Fairy Stories and Nursery Tales 

€@oflern 

BROWNIE AND THE COOK 
Dinah Maria Mulock Craik 

There was once a little Brownie who lived — where do you 
think he lived? — In a coal cellar. 

Now a coal cellar may seem a most curious place to choose to 
live in; but then a Brownie is a curious creature — a fairy, and 
yet not one of that sort of fairies who fly about on gossamer 
wings, and dance in the moonlight, and so on. He never dances; 
and as to wings, what use would they be to him in a coal cellar? 
He is a sober, stay-at-home household elf — nothing much to look 
at, even if you did see him, which you are not likely to do — only 
a little old man, about a foot high, all dressed in brown, with a 
brown face and hands, and a brown peaked cap, just the color of a 
brown mouse. And like a mouse he hides in corners — especially 
kitchen corners, and only comes out after dark when nobody is about, 
and so sometimes people call him Mr. Nobody. 

I said you were not likely to see him. I never did, certainly, and 
never knew anybody that did; but still, if you were to go into 
Devonshire, you would hear many funny stories about Brownies in 
general, and so I may as well tell you the adventures of this par- 
ticular Brownie, who belonged to a family there; which family he 
had followed from house to house, most faithfully, for years and 
years. 

A good many people had heard him — or supposed they had — 
when there were extraordinary noises about the house; noises which 
must have come from a mouse or a rat — or a Brownie. But nobody 
had ever seen him, except the children, the three little boys and three 
little girls — who declared he often came to play with them when 
they were alone, and was the nicest companion in the world, though 
he was such an old man — hundreds of years old! He was full of 
fun and mischief and up to all sorts of tricks, but he never did any- 
body any harm unless they deserved it. 

Brownie was supposed to live under one particular coal, in the 
darkest corner of the cellar, which was never allowed to be dis- 
turbed. Why he had chosen it nobody knew, and how he lived there, 
nobody knew either; nor what he lived upon. Except that, ever 
since the family could remember, there had always been a bowl of 


156 


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milk put behind the coal cellar door for the Brownie’s supper. 
Perhaps he drank it — perhaps he didn’t: anyhow, the bowl was 
always found empty next morning. 

The old Cook, who had lived all her life in the family, had never 
once forgotten to give Brownie his supper; but at last she died, and a 
young Cook came in her stead, who was very apt to forget every- 
thing. She was also both careless and lazy, and disliked taking 
the trouble to put a bowl of milk in the same place every night for 
Mr. Nobody. “She didn’t believe in Brownies,” she said; “she 
had never seen one, and seeing’s believing.” So she laughed at the 
other servants, who looked very grave, and put the bowl of milk in 
its place as often as they could, without saying much about it. 

But once, when Brownie woke up, at his usual hour for rising — 
ten o’clock at night, and looked round in search of his supper — 
which was in fact his breakfast, he found nothing there. At first 
he could not imagine such neglect, and went smelling and smelling 
about for his bowl of milk — it was not always placed in the same 
corner now — but in vain. 

“ This will never do,” said he; and being extremely hungry, began 
running about the coal cellar to see what he could find. His eyes 
were as useful in the dark as in the light — like a pussycat’s; but 
there was nothing to be seen — not even a potato paring, or a dry 
crust, or a well-gnawed bone, such as Tiny the terrier sometimes 
brought into the coal cellar and left on the floor. Nothing, in short, 
but heaps of coals and coal dust, which even a Brownie cannot eat, 
you know. 

“ Can’t stand this; quite impossible! ” said the Brownie, tightening 
his belt to make his poor little inside feel less empty. He had been 
asleep so long — about a week, I believe, as was his habit when there 
was nothing to do — that he seemed ready to eat his own head, or his 
boots, or anything. “ What’s to be done? Since nobody brings my 
supper I must go and fetch it.” 

He spoke quickly, for he always thought quickly and made up 
his mind in a minute. To be sure it was a very little mind, like his 
little body; but he did the best he could with it, and was not a bad 
sort of old fellow after all. In the house he had never done any 
harm — and often some good, for he frightened away all the rats, 
mice, and black beetles. Not the crickets — he liked them, as the 
old Cook had done: she said they were such cheerful creatures, and 
always brought luck to the house. But the young Cook could not 
bear them, and used to pour boiling water down their holes, and set 


Fairy Stories and Nursery Tales 157 

basins of beer with little wooden bridges up to the rim, that they 
might walk up, tumble in, and be drowned. 

So there was not even a cricket singing in the silent house when 
Brownie put his head out of his coal cellar door, which, to his 
surprise, he found open. Old Cook' used to lock it every night; 
but the young Cook had left that key, and the kitchen and pantry 
keys too, all dangling in the lock, so that any thief might have got 
in and wandered all over the house without being found out. 

44 Hurrah, here’s luck! ” cried Brownie, tossing his cap up in 
the air, and bounding right through the scullery into the kitchen. 
It was quite empty, but there was a good fire burning itself out — 
just for its own amusement, and the remains of a capital supper 
were spread on the table — enough for half-a-dozen people being 
left still. 

Would you like to know what there was? Devonshire cream, of 
course; and part of a large dish of junket, which is something like 
curds and whey. Lots of bread and butter and cheese, and half an 
apple pudding. Also a great jug of cider and another of milk, 
and several half-full glasses, and no end of dirty plates, knives, and 
forks. All were scattered about the table in the most untidy fashion, 
just as the servants had risen from their supper, without thinking to 
put anything away. 

Brownie screwed up his little old face and turned up his button 
of a nose, and gave a long whistle. You might not believe it, seeing 
he lived in a coal cellar, but really he liked tidiness and always 
played his pranks upon disorderly or slovenly folk. 

44 Whew ! ” said he, 44 here’s a chance ! What a supper I’ll get 
now! ” 

And he jumped on to a chair and thence to the table, but so quietly 
that the large black cat with four white paws, called Muff, because 
she was so fat and soft and her fur so long, who sat dozing in front 
of the fire, just opened one eye and went to sleep again. She had 
tried to get her nose into the milk jug, but it was too small; and 
the junket dish was too deep for her to reach, except with one paw. 
She didn’t care much for bread and cheese and apple pudding, and 
was very well fed besides; so after just wandering round the table 
she had jumped down from it again, and settled herself to sleep on 
the hearth. 

But Brownie had no notion of going to sleep. He wanted his 
supper, and oh ! what a supper he did eat ! first one thing and then 
another, and then trying everything all over again. And oh! what 


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Types of Children s Literature 

a lot he drank! — first milk and then cider, and then mixed the two 
together in a way that would have disagreed with anybody except a 
Brownie. As it was, he was obliged to slacken his belt several times, 
and at last took it off altogether. But he must have had a most 
extraordinary capacity for eating and drinking — since, after he 
had nearly cleared the table, he was just as lively as ever, and 
began jumping about on the table as if he had had no supper at all. 

Now his jumping was a little awkward, for there happened to be 
a clean white tablecloth! as this was only Monday, it had had no time 
to get dirty — untidy as the Cook was. And you know Brownie lived 
in a coal cellar, and his feet were black with running about in coal 
dust. So wherever he trod, he left the impression behind; until at 
last the whole tablecloth was covered with black marks. 

Not that he minded this; in fact, he took great pains to make the 
cloth as dirty as possible; and then laughing loudly, “ Ho, ho, ho! ” 
leaped on to the hearth, and began teasing the cat; squeaking like a 
mouse, or chirping like a cricket, or buzzing like a fly; and al- 
together disturbing poor Pussy’s mind so much, that she went and 
hid herself in the farthest corner, and left him the hearth all to him- 
self, where he lay at ease till daybreak. 

Then, hearing a slight noise overhead, which might be the serv- 
ants getting up, he jumped on to the table again — gobbled up the 
few remaining crumbs for his breakfast, and scampered off to his 
coal cellar; where he hid himself under his big coal, and fell asleep 
for the day. 

Well, the Cook came downstairs rather earlier than usual, for she 
remembered she had to clear off the remains of supper; but lo and 
behold, there was nothing left to clear! Every bit of food was 
eaten up — the cheese looked as if a dozen mice had been nibbling 
at it, and nibbled it down to the very rind; the milk and cider were 
all drunk — and mice don’t care for milk and cider, you know: as for 
the apple pudding, it had vanished altogether; and the dish was 
licked as clean as if Boxer the yard dog had been at it, in his 
hungriest mood. 

“And my white tablecloth — oh, my clean white tablecloth! 
What can have been done to it? ” cried she in amazement. For it 
was all over little black footmarks, just the size of a baby’s foot — 
only babies don’t wear shoes with nails in them, and don’t run about 
and climb on kitchen tables after all the family have gone to bed. 

Cook was a little frightened; but her fright changed to anger 
when she saw the large black cat stretched comfortably on the 


Fairy Stories and Nursery Tales 159 

hearth. Poor Muff had crept there for a little snooze after Brownie 
went away. 

“You nasty cat! I see it all now; it’s you that have eaten up all 
the supper; it’s you that have been on my clean tablecloth with 
your dirty paws.” 

They were white paws, and as clean as possible; but Cook never 
thought of that, any more than she did of the fact that cats don’t 
usually drink cider or eat apple pudding. 

“I’ll teach you to come stealing food in this way; take that — 
and that — and that! ” 

Cook got hold of a broom and beat poor Pussy till the creature ran 
mewing away. She couldn’t speak, you know — unfortunate cat! 
and tell people that it was Brownie who had done it all. 

Next night Cook thought she would make all safe and sure; so, 
instead of letting the cat sleep by the fire, she shut her up in the 
chilly coal cellar — locked the door, put the key in her pocket, and 
went off to bed; leaving the supper as before. 

When Brownie woke up and looked out of his hole, there was as 
usual no supper for him, and the cellar was close shut. He peered 
about, to try and find some cranny under the door to creep out at, 
but there was none. And he felt so hungry that he could almost 
have eaten the cat, who kept walking to and fro in a melancholy 
manner — only she was alive, and he couldn’t well eat her alive: — 
besides he knew she was old, and had an idea she might be tough; 
so he merely said, politely, “ How do you do, Mrs. Pussy? ” to 
which she answered nothing — of course. 

Something must be done, and luckily Brownies can do things 
which nobody else can do. So he thought he would change himself 
into a mouse, and gnaw a hole through the door. But then he sud- 
denly remembered the cat, who, though he had decided not to eat 
her, might take this opportunity of eating him. So he thought it 
advisable to wait till she was fast asleep, which did not happen for 
a good while. At length, quite tired with walking about, Pussy 
turned round on her tail six times, curled down in a corner, and fell 
fast asleep. 

Immediately Brownie changed himself into the smallest mouse 
possible; and, taking care not to make the least noise, gnawed a hole 
in the door, and squeezed himself through — immediately turning 
into his proper shape again, for fear of accidents. 

The kitchen fire was at its last glimmer; but it showed a better 
supper than even last night, for the Cook had had friends with her, 


160 


Types of Childrens Literature 

a brother and two cousins, and they had been exceedingly merry. 
The food they had left behind was enough for three Brownies at least, 
but this one managed to eat it all up. Only once, in trying to cut 
a great slice of beef, he let the carving knife and fork fall with 
such a clatter, that Tiny the terrier, who was tied up at the foot of 
the stairs, began to bark furiously. However, he brought her her 
puppy, which had been left in a basket in a corner of the kitchen, 
and so succeeded in quieting her. 

After that he enjoyed himself amazingly, and made more marks 
than ever on the white tablecloth — for he began jumping about 
like a pea on a trencher, in order to make his particularly large 
supper agree with him. 

Then, in the absence of the cat, he teased the puppy for an hour 
or two, till, hearing the clock strike five, he thought it as well to 
turn into a mouse again, and creep back cautiously into his cellar. 
He was only just in time, for Muff opened one eye, and was just 
going to pounce upon him, when he changed himself back into a 
Brownie. She was so startled that she bounded away, her tail grow- 
ing into twice its natural size, and her eyes gleaming like round 
green globes. But Brownie only said, “ Ha,, ha, ho ! ” and walked 
deliberately into his hole. 

When Cook came downstairs and saw that the same thing had 
happened again — that the supper was all eaten, and the tablecloth 
blacker than ever with extraordinary footmarks, she was greatly 
puzzled. Who could have done it all? Not the cat, who came mew- 
ing out of the coal cellar the minute she unlocked the door. Possibly 
a rat — but then would a rat have come within reach of Tiny? 

“ It must have been Tiny herself, or her puppy,” which just came 
rolling out of its basket over Cook’s feet. “ You little wretch! You 
and your mother are the greatest nuisance imaginable. I’ll punish 
you! ” 

And quite forgetting that Tiny had been safely tied up all night, 
and that her poor little puppy was so fat and helpless it could 
scarcely stand on its legs — and so was unlikely to jump on chairs 
and tables, she gave them both such a thrashing that they ran howling 
together out of the kitchen door, where the kind little kitchen maid 
took them up in her arms. 

<fc You ought to have beaten the Brownie, if you could catch him,” 
said she in a whisper. “ He’ll do it again and again, you’ll see, for 
he can’t bear an untidy kitchen. You’d better do as poor old Cook 
did, and clear the supper things away, and put the odds and ends 


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Fairy Stories and Nursery Tales 

safe in the larder; also,” she added mysteriously, “if I were you, 
I’d put a bowl of milk behind the coal-cellar door.” 

” Nonsense! ” answered the young Cook and flounced away. But 
afterwards she thought better of it, and did as she was advised, 
grumbling all the time, but doing it. 

Next morning, the milk was gone! Perhaps Brownie had drunk 
it up, anyhow nobody could say that he hadn’t. As for the supper, 
Cook having safely laid it on the shelves of the larder, nobody 
touched it. And the tablecloth, which was wrapped up tidily and 
put in the dresser drawer, came out as clean as ever, with not a 
single black footmark upon it. No mischief being done, the cat 
and the dog both escaped beating, and Brownie played no more 
tricks with anybody — till the next time. 


THE KING OF THE GOLDEN RIVER; OR, THE 
BLACK BROTHERS 

John Ruskin 
CHAPTER I 

HOW THE AGRICULTURAL SYSTEM OF THE BLACK BROTHERS WAS 
INTERFERED WITH BY SOUTHWEST WIND, ESQUIRE 

In a secluded and mountainous part of Stiria there was in old 
time a valley of the most surprising and luxuriant fertility. It was 
surrounded on all sides by steep and rocky mountains, rising into 
peaks which were always covered with snow, and from which a 
number of torrents descended in constant cataracts. One of these 
fell westward over the face of a crag so high, that, when the sun had 
set to everything else, and all below was darkness, his beams still 
shone full upon this waterfall, so that it looked like a shower of 
gold. It was, therefore, called by the people of the neighborhood, 
the Golden River. It was strange that none of these streams fell 
into the valley itself. They all descended on the other side of the 
mountains, and wound away through broad plains and by populous 
cities. But the clouds were drawn so constantly to the snowy hills, 
and rested so softly, in the circular hollow, that in time of drought 
and heat, when all the country round was burnt up, there was still 
rain in the little valley; and its crops were so heavy and its hay so 
high, and its apples so red, and its grapes so blue, and its wine so 


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rich, and its honey so sweet, that it was a marvel to every one who 
beheld it, and was commonly called the Treasure Valley. 

The whole of this little valley belonged to three brothers called 
Schwartz, Hans, and Gluck. Schwartz and Hans, the two elder 
brothers, were very ugly men, with overhanging eyebrows and small 
dull eyes, which were always half shut, so that you could not see 
into them, and always fancied thdy saw very far into you. They 
lived by farming the Treasure Valley, and very good farmers they 
were. They killed everything that did not pay for its eating. They 
shot the blackbirds, because they pecked the fruit; and killed the 
hedgehogs, lest they should suck the cows; they poisoned the crickets 
for eating the crumbs in the kitchen; and smothered the cicadas, 
which used to sing all, summer in the lime trees. They worked their 
servants without any wages, till they would not work any more, and 
then quarreled with them, and turned them out of doors without 
paying them. It would have been very odd if with such a farm and 
such a system of farming they hadn’t got very rich; and very rich 
they did get. They generally contrived to keep their corn by them 
till it was very dear, and then sell it for twice its value; they had 
heaps of gold lying about on their floors, yet it was never known that 
they had given so much as a penny or a crust in charity; they never 
went to mass; grumbled perpetually at paying tithes; and were, in 
a word, of so cruel and grinding a temper, as to receive from all those 
with whom they had any dealings, the nickname of the “Black 
Brothers.” 

The youngest brother, Gluck, was as completely opposed, in both 
appearance and character, to his seniors as could possibly be 
imagined or desired. He was not above twelve years old, fair, blue- 
eyed, and kind in temper to every living thing. He did not, of 
course, agree particularly well with his brothers, or rather, they 
did not agree with him. He was usually appointed to the honorable 
office of turnspit, when there was anything to roast, which was not 
often; for, to do the brothers justice, they were hardly less sparing 
upon themselves than upon other people. At other times he used 
to clean the shoes, floors, and sometimes the plates, occasionally 
getting what was left on them, by way of encouragement, and a 
wholesome quantity of dry blows, by way of education. 

Things went on in this manner for a long time. At last came 
a very wet summer, and everything went wrong in the country around. 
The hay had hardly been got in when the haystacks were floated 
bodily down to the sea by an inundation ; the vines were cut to pieces 


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Fairy Stories and Nursery Tales 

with the hail; the corn was all killed by a black blight; only in 
the Treasure Valley, as usual, all was safe. As it had rain when 
there was rain nowhere else, so it had sun when there was sun no- 
where else. Everybody came to buy corn at the farm, and went 
away pouring maledictions on the Black Brothers. They asked 
what they liked, and got it, except from the poor people, who could 
only beg, and several of whom were starved at their very door with- 
out the slightest regard or notice. 

It was drawing towards Winter, and very cold weather, when 
one day the two elder brothers had gone out with their usual warn- 
ing to little Gluck, who was left to mind the roast, that he was to let 
nobody in and give nothing out. Gluck sat down quite close to the 
fire, for it was raining very hard, and the kitchen walls were by 
no means dry or comfortable looking. He turned and turned, and 
the roast got nice and brown. 44 What a pity,” thought Gluck, 44 my 
brothers never ask anybody to dinner. I’m sure when they have 
such a nice piece of mutton as this, and nobody else has got so much 
as a piece of dry bread, it would do their hearts good to have some- 
body to eat it with them.” 

Just as he spoke there came a double knock at the house door, yet 
heavy and dull, as though the knocker had been tied up — more like 
a puff than a knock. 

‘ 4 It must be the wind,” said Gluck; 44 nobody else would venture to 
knock double knocks at our door.” 

No; it wasn’t the wind: there it came again very hard; and what 
was particularly astounding, the knocker seemed to be in a hurry, 
and not to be in the least afraid of the consequences. Gluck 
went to the window, opened it, and put his head out to see who it 
was. 

It was the most extraordinary-looking little gentleman he had 
ever seen in his life. He had a very large nose, slightly brass- 
colored; his cheeks were very round and very red, and might have 
warranted a supposition that he had been blowing a refractory fire 
for the last eight-and-forty hours; his eyes twinkled merrily through 
long silky eyelashes, his mustaches curled twice round like a cork- 
screw on each side of his mouth, and his hair, of a curious mixed 
pepper-and-salt-color, descended far over his shoulders. He was 
about four-feet-six in height, and wore a conical pointed cap of nearly 
the same altitude, decorated with a black feather some three feet 
long. His doublet was prolonged behind into something resembling 
a violent exaggeration of what is now termed a 44 swallowtail,” but 


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Types of Childrens Literature 

was much obscured by the swelling folds of an enormous black, 
glossy-looking cloak, which must have been very much too long in 
calm weather, as the wind, whistling round the old house, carried 
it clear out from the wearer’s shoulders to about four times his own 
length. 

Gluck was so perfectly paralyzed by the singular appearance of 
his visitor that he remained fixed without uttering a word, until the 
old gentleman, having performed another and a more energetic con- 
certo on the knocker, turned round to look after his fly-away cloak. 
In so doing he caught sight of Gluck’s little yellow head jammed in 
the window, with his mouth and eyes very wide-open indeed. 

44 Hollo! ” said the little gentleman, 44 that’s not the way to answer 
the door: I’m wet, let me in.” 

To do the little gentleman justice, he was wet. His feather hung 
down between his legs like a beaten puppy’s tail, dripping like an 
umbrella; and from the ends of his mustaches the water was run- 
ning into his waistcoat pockets, and out again like a mill stream. 

44 1 beg pardon, sir,” said Gluck, 44 I’m very sorry, but I really 
can’t.” 

44 Can’t what? ” said the old gentleman. 

44 1 can’t let you in, sir, — I can’t indeed; my brothers would beat 
me to death, sir, if I thought of such a thing. What do you want, 
sir? ” 

44 Want? ” said the old gentleman, petulantly. 44 1 want fire and 
shelter; and there’s your great fire there, blazing, crackling, and 
dancing on the walls, with nobody to feel it. Let me in, I say; I only 
want to warm myself.” 

Gluck had had his head so long out of the window by this time 
that he began to feel it was really unpleasantly cold, and when he 
turned and saw the beautiful fire rustling and roaring, and throwing 
long, bright tongues up the chimney, as if it were licking its chops 
at the savory smell of the leg of mutton, his heart melted within him 
that it should be burning away for nothing. 44 He does look very 
wet,” said little Gluck; 44 I’ll just let him in for a quarter of an hour.” 
Round he went to the door and opened it; and as the little gentleman 
walked in there came a gust of wind through the house that made the 
old chimneys totter. 

44 That’s a good boy,” said the little gentleman. 44 Never mind 
your brothers. I’ll talk to them.” 

44 Pray, sir, don’t do any such thing,” said Gluck. 44 1 can’t let 
you stay till they come: they’d be the death of me.” 


Fairy Stories and Nursery Tales 165 

“ Dear me,” said the old gentleman, 44 I’m very sorry to hear that. 
How long may I stay? ” 

44 Only till the mutton’s done, sir,” replied Gluck, 44 and it’s very 
brown.” 

Then the old gentleman walked into the kitchen, and sat himself 
down on the hob, with the top of his cap accommodated up the chim- 
ney, for it was a great deal too high for the roof. 

“ You’ll soon dry there, sir,” said Gluck, and sat down again 
to turn the mutton. But the old gentleman did not dry there, but 
went on drip, drip, dripping among the cinders, and the fire fizzed, 
and sputtered, and began to look very black and uncomfortable. 
Never was such a cloak; every fold in it ran like a gutter. 

44 1 beg pardon, sir,” said Gluck at length, after watching the 
water spreading in long, quicksilver-like streams over the floor for a 
quarter of an hour; 44 mayn’t I take your cloak? ” 

44 No, thank you,” said the old gentleman. 

“Your cap, sir? ” 

44 1 am all right, thank you,” said the old gentleman, rather 
gruffly. 

44 But, — sir, — I’m very sorry,” said Gluck, hesitatingly; 44 but — 
really, sir, — you’re — putting the fire out.” 

44 It’ll take longer to do the mutton, then,” replied his visitor 
dryly. 

Gluck was very much puzzled by the behavior of his guest; it was 
such a strange mixture of coolness and humility. He turned away 
at the string meditatively for another five minutes. 

44 That mutton looks very nice,” said the old gentleman at length. 
44 Can’t you give me a little bit? ” 

44 Impossible, sir,” said Gluck. 

44 I’m very hungry,” continued the old gentleman; 44 I’ve had noth- 
ing to eat yesterday nor today. They surely couldn’t miss a bit 
from the knuckle ! ” 

He spoke in so very melancholy a tone that it quite melted Gluck’s 
heart. 44 They promised me one slice today, sir,” said he; 44 1 can 
give you that, but not a bit more.” 

44 That’s a good boy,” said the old gentleman again. 

Then Gluck warmed a plate, and sharpened a knife. 44 1 don’t 
care if I do get beaten for it,” thought he. Just as he had cut a large 
slice out of the mutton, there came a tremendous rap at the door. 
The old gentleman jumped off the hob, as if it had suddenly 
become inconveniently warm. Gluck fitted the slice into the 


166 Types of Children s Literature 

mutton again, with desperate efforts at exactitude, and ran to open 
the door. 

“ What did you keep us waiting in the rain for? ” said Schwartz, as 
he walked in, throwing his umbrella in Gluck’s face. “Ay! what 
for, indeed, you little vagabond? ” said Hans, administering an 
educational box on the ear, as he followed his brother into the 
kitchen. 

“ Bless my soul ! ” said Schwartz, when he opened the door. 

“ Amen,” said the little gentleman, who had taken his cap off, and 
was standing in the middle of the kitchen, bowing with the utmost 
possible velocity. 

“ Who’s that? ” said Schwartz, catching up a rolling-pin, and turn- 
ing to Gluck with a fierce frown. 

“ I don’t know, indeed, brother,” said Gluck, in great terror. 

“ How did he get in? ” roared Schwartz. 

“ My dear brother,” said Gluck, depreeatingly, “ he was so 
very wet! ” 

The rolling-pin was descending on Gluck’s head; but at the in- 
stant the old gentleman interposed his conical cap, on which it 
crashed with a shock that shook the water out of it all over the room. 
What was very odd, the rolling-pin no sooner touched the cap than 
it flew out of Schwartz’s hand, spinning like a straw in a high wind, 
and fell into the corner at the farther end of the room. 

“ Who are you, sir? ” demanded Schwartz, turning upon him. 

“ What’s your business? ” snarled Hans. 

“ I’m a poor old man, sir,” the little gentleman began very 
modestly, “ and I saw your fire through the window, and begged 
shelter for a quarter of an hour.” 

“ Have the goodness to walk out again, then,” said Schwartz. 
“ We’ve quite enough water in our kitchen without making it a 
drying-house.” 

“ It is a cold day to turn an old man out in, sir; look at my gray 
hairs.” They hung down to his shoulders, as I told you before. 

“ Ay ! ” said Hans, “ there are enough of them to keep you warm. 
Walk! ” 

“ I’m very, very hungry, sir; couldn’t you spare me a bit of bread 
before I go? ” 

“ Bread, indeed! ” said Schwartz; “ do you suppose we’ve nothing 
to do with our bread but to give it to such red-nosed fellows as 
you? ” 

“Why don’t you sell your feather?” said Hans, sneeringly. 
“ Out with you ! ” 


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%'airy Stories and Nursery Tales 

“ A little bit,” said the old gentleman. 

“ Be off ! ” said Schwartz. 

“ Pray, gentlenfen — ” 

“Off, and be hanged! ” cried Hans, seizing him by the collar. 
But he had no sooner touched the old gentleman’s collar, than 
away he went after the rolling-pin, spinning round and round, till 
he fell into the corner on the top of it. Then Schwartz was very 
angry, and ran at the old gentleman to turn him out; but he also 
had hardly touched him, when away he went after Hans and the 
rolling-pin, and hit his head against the wall as he tumbled into the 
corner. And so there they lay, all three. 

Then the old gentleman spun himself round with velocity in the 
opposite direction; continued to spin until his long cloak was all 
wound neatly about him: clapped his cap on his head, very much on 
one side (for it could not stand upright without going through the 
ceiling), gave an additional twist to his corkscrew mustaches, and 
replied with perfect coolness: 44 Gentlemen, I wish you a very 
good morning. At twelve o’clock tonight I’ll call again; after such 
a refusal of hospitality as I have just experienced, you will not be 
surprised if that visit is the last I ever pay you.” 

44 If ever I catch you here again,” muttered Schwartz, coming, 
half frightened, out of the corner — but, before he could finish his 
sentence, the old gentleman had shut the house door behind him with 
a great bang: and there drove past the window, at the same instant, 
a wreath of ragged cloud, that whirled and rolled away down the 
valley in all manner of shapes; turning over and over in the air, 
and melting away at last in a gush of rain. 

“A very pretty business, indeed, Mr. Gluck!” said Schwartz. 
44 Dish the mutton, sir. If ever I catch you at such a trick again 
— bless me, why, the mutton’s been cut ! ” 

44 You promised me one slice, brother, you know,” said Gluck. 

44 Oh ! and you were cutting it hot, I suppose, and going to catch 
all the gravy. It’ll be long before I promise you such a thing 
again. Leave the room, sir; and have the kindness to wait in the 
coal cellar till I call you.” 

Gluck left the room, melancholy enough. The brothers ate as 
much mutton as they could, locked the rest into the cupboard, and 
proceeded to get very drunk after dinner. 

Such a night as it was! Howling wind, and rushing rain, with- 
out intermission. The brothers had just sense enough left to put up 
all the shutters, and double-bar the door, before they went to bed. 


168 


Types of Children s Literature 

They usually slept in the same room. As the clock struck twelve, 
they were both awakened by a tremendous crash. ^ Their door burst 
open with a violence that shook the house from top to bottom. 

“What’s that? ” cried Schwartz, starting up in his bed. 

“ Only I,” said the little gentleman. 

The two brothers sat up on their bolster, and stared into the 
darkness. The room was full of water; and by a misty moonbeam, 
which found its way through a hole in the shutter, they could see in 
the midst of it an enormous foam globe, spinning round, and bob- 
bing up and down like a cork, on which, as on a most luxurious 
cushion, reclined the little old gentleman, cap and all. There 
was plenty of room for it now, for the roof was off. 

“ Sorry to incommode you,” said their visitor, ir'onically. “ I’m 
afraid your beds are dampish; perhaps you had better go to your 
brother’s room: I’ve left the ceiling on there.” 

They required no second admonition, but rushed into Gluck’s 
room, wet through, and in an agony of terror. 

“ You’ll find my card on the kitchen table,” the old gentleman 
called after them. “ Remember, the last visit.” 

“ Pray Heaven it may ! ” said Schwartz, shuddering. And the 
foam globe disappeared. 

Dawn came at last, and the two brothers looked out of Gluck’s 
little window in the morning. The Treasure Valley was one mass 
of ruin and desolation. The inundation had swept away trees, 
crops, and cattle, and left in their stead a waste of red sand and 
gray mud. The two brothers crept shivering and horror-struck into 
the kitchen. The water had gutted the whole first floor; corn, money, 
almost every movable thing had been swept away, and there was 
left only a small white card on the kitchen table. On it, in large, 
breezy, long-legged letters, were engraved the words: 

SOUTHWEST WIND , ESQUIRE 
CHAPTER II 

OF THE PROCEEDINGS OF THE THREE BROTHERS AFTER THE VISIT OF 

SOUTHWEST WIND, ESQUIRE; AND HOW LITTLE GLUCK HAD AN 

INTERVIEW WITH THE KING OF THE GOLDEN RIVER 

Southwest Wind, Esquire, was as good as his word. After the 
momentous visit above related, he entered the Treasure Valley no 
more; and what was worse, he had so much influence with his rela- 


169 


Fairy Stories and Nursery Tales 

tions, the West Winds in general, and used it so effectually, that 
they all adopted a similar line of conduct. So no rain fell in the 
valley from one year’s end to another. Though everything remained 
green and flourishing in the plains below, the inheritance of the 
Three Brothers was a desert. What had once been the richest soil 
in the kingdom became a shifting heap of red sand ; and the brothers, 
unable longer to contend with the adverse skies, abandoned their 
valueless patrimony in despair, to seek some means of gaining a 
livelihood among the cities and people of the plains. t All their 
money was gone, and they had nothing left but some curious, old- 
fashioned pieces of gold plate, the last remnants of their ill-gotten 
wealth. 

“ Suppose we turn goldsmiths? ” said Schwartz to Hans, as they 
entered the large city. “ It is a good knave’s trade; we can put a 
great deal of copper into the gold without any one’s finding it out.” 

The thought was agreed to be a very good one; they hired a 
furnace, and turned goldsmiths. But two slight circumstances 
affected their trade: the first, that people did not approve of the 
coppered gold; the second, that the two elder brothers whenever they 
had sold anything used to leave little Gluck to mind the furnace, 
and go and drink out the money in the alehouse next door. So 
they melted all their gold, without making money enough to buy 
more, and were at last reduced to one large drinking mug, which an 
uncle of his had given to little Gluck, and which he was very fond 
of, and would not have parted with for the world; though he never 
drank anything out of it but milk and water. The mug was a very 
odd mug to look at. The handle was formed of two wreaths of 
flowing golden hair, so finely spun that it looked more like silk 
than metal, and these wreaths descended into and mixed with a 
beard and whiskers of the same exquisite workmanship, which sur- 
rounded and decorated a very fierce little face, of the reddest gold 
imaginable, right in the front of the mug, with a pair of eyes in it 
which seemed to command its whole circumference. It was impos- 
sible to drink from the mug without being subjected to an intense 
gaze out of the side of these eyes; and Schwartz positively averred 
that once after emptying it full of Rhenish seventeen times he had 
seen them wink! When it came to the mug’s turn to be made into 
spoons, it half broke poor little Gluck’s heart; but the brothers only 
laughed at him, tossed the mug into the melting pot, and staggered 
out to the alehouse, leaving him, as usual, to pour the gold into bars, 
when it was all ready. 


170 


Types of Childrens Literature 

When they were gone, Gluck took a farewell look at his old friend 
in the melting pot. The flowing hair was all gone; nothing re- 
mained but the red nose and the sparkling eyes, which looked more 
malicious than ever. “ And no wonder,” thought Gluck, “ after 
being treated in that way.” He sauntered disconsolately to the 
window, and sat himself down to catch the fresh evening air, and 
escape the hot breath of the furnace. Now this window commanded 
a direct view of the range of mountains, which, as I told you before, 
overhung the Treasure Valley, and more especially of the peak from 
which fell the Golden River. It was just at the close of the day; 
and when Gluck sat down at the window, he saw the rocks of the 
mountain tops all crimson and purple with the sunset; and there 
were bright tongues of fiery cloud burning and quivering about 
them; and the river, brighter than all, fell in a waving column of 
pure gold from precipice to precipice, with the double arch of a 
broad purple rainbow stretched across it, flushing and fading alter- 
nately in the wreaths of spray. 

“ Ah! ” said Gluck aloud, after he had looked at it for a while, 
“ if that river were really all gold, what a nice thing it would be.” 

“ No, it wouldn’t, Gluck,” said a clear metallic voice, close at 
his ear. 

“Bless me! what’s that? ” exclaimed Gluck, jumping up. There 
was nobody there. He looked round the room, and under the table, 
and a great many times behind him, but there was certainly nobody 
there, and he sat down again at the window. This time he didn’t 
speak, but he couldn’t help thinking again that it would be very 
convenient if the river were really all gold. 

“ Not at all, my boy,” said the same voice, louder than before. 

“Bless me!” said Gluck again, “what is that?” He looked 
again into all the corners and cupboards, and then began turning 
round and round as fast as he could in the middle of the room, 
thinking there was somebody behind him, when the same voice struck 
again on his ear. It was singing now very merrily, “ Lala-lira-la ”; 
no words, only a soft, running, effervescent melody, something like 
that of a kettle on the boil. Gluck looked out of the window. No, 
it was certainly in the house. Upstairs, and downstairs. No, it was 
certainly in that very room, coming in quicker time and clearer notes 
every moment. “ Lala-lira-la.” All at once it struck Gluck that it 
sounded louder near the furnace. He ran to the opening, and 
looked in : yes, he saw right, it seemed to be coming not only out of 
the furnace, but out of the pot. He uncovered it, and ran back in a 


Fairy Stories and Nursery Tales 171 

great fright, for the pot was certainly singing! He stood in the 
farthest corner of the room with his hands up and his mouth open, 
for a minute or two when the singing stopped, and the voice became 
clear and pronunciative. 

“ Hollo! ” said the voice. 

Gluck made no answer. 

“ Hollo! Gluck, my boy,” said the pot again. 

Gluck summoned all his energies, walked straight up to the cru- 
cible, drew it out of the furnace and looked in. The gold was all 
melted, and its surface as smooth and polished as a river; but instead 
of reflecting little Gluck’s head as he looked in, he saw meeting his 
glance from beneath the gold the red nose and sharp eyes of his 
old friend of the mug, a thousand times redder and sharper than 
ever he had seen them in his life. 

“ Come, Gluck, my boy,” said the voice out of the pot again, 44 I’m 
all right; pour me out.” 

But Gluck was too much astonished to do anything of the kind. 

44 Pour me out, I say,” said the voice, rather gruffly. 

Still Gluck couldn’t move. 

44 Will you pour me out? ” said the voice, passionately, 44 I’m too 
hot.” 

By a violent effort Gluck recovered the use of his limbs, took hold 
of the crucible, and sloped it so as to pour out the gold. But 
instead of a liquid stream there came out, first, a pair of pretty 
little yellow legs, then some coat tails, then a pair of arms stuck 
akimbo, and, finally, the well-known head of his friend the mug; all 
which articles, uniting as they rolled out, stood up energetically on 
the floor, in the shape of a little golden dwarf about a foot and a half 
high. 

44 That’s right ! ” said the dwarf, stretching out first his legs, and 
then his arms, and then shaking his head up and down, and as far 
round as it would go, for five minutes without stopping, apparently 
with the view of ascertaining if he were quite correctly put together, 
while Gluck stood contemplating him in speechless amazement. 
He was dressed in a slashed doublet of spun gold, so fine in its tex- 
ture that the prismatic colors gleamed over it, as if on a surface 
of mother of pearl; and over this brilliant doublet his hair and beard 
fell full halfway to the ground in waving curls, so exquisitely deli- 
cate, that Gluck could hardly tell where they ended; they seemed to 
melt into air. The features of the face, however, were by no means 
finished with the same delicacy; they were rather coarse, slightly 


172 


Types of Children s Literature 

inclined to coppery in complexion, and indicative, in expression, 
of a very pertinacious and intractable disposition in their small 
proprietor. When the dwarf had finished his self-examination, he 
turned his small sharp eyes full on Gluck, and stared at him de- 
liberately for a minute or two. “ No, it wouldn’t, Gluck, my boy,” 
said the little man. 

This was certainly rather an abrupt and unconnected mode of 
commencing conversation. It might indeed be supposed to refer to 
the course of Gluck’s thoughts, which had first produced the dwarf’s 
observations out of the pot; but whatever it referred to, Gluck had 
no inclination to dispute what he said. 

“ Wouldn’t it, sir? ” said Gluck, very mildly and submissively 
indeed. 

“ No,” said the dwarf, conclusively. “ No, it wouldn’t.” And 
with that the dwarf pulled his cap hard over his brows, and took 
two turns, of three feet long, up and down the room, lifting his legs 
up very high and setting them down very hard. This pause gave 
time for Gluck to collect his thoughts a little, and seeing no great 
reason to view his diminutive visitor with dread, and feeling his 
curiosity overcome his amazement, he ventured on a question of 
peculiar delicacy. 

“ Pray, sir,” said Gluck, rather hesitatingly, “ were you my mug? ” 

On which the little man turned sharp round, walked straight 
up to Gluck, and drew himself up to his full height. “ I,” said the 
little man, “ am the King of the Golden River.” Whereupon he 
turned about again, and took two more turns some six feet long in 
order to allow time for the consternation which this announcement 
produced in his auditor to evaporate. After which he again walked 
up to Gluck and stood still, as if expecting some comment on his 
communication. 

Gluck determined to say something at all events. “ I hope your 
Majesty is very well,” said Gluck. 

“Listen! ” said the little man, deigning no reply to this polite 
inquiry. “ I am the King of what you mortals call the Golden 
River. The shape you saw me in was owing to the malice of a 
stronger king, from whose enchantments you have this instant freed 
me. What I have seen of you, and your conduct to your wicked 
brothers, renders me willing to serve you; therefore, attend to what 
I tell you. Whoever shall climb to the top of that mountain from 
which you see the Golden River issue, and shall cast into the stream 
at its source three drops of holy water, for him, and for him only, 


Fairy Stories and Nursery Tales 178 

the river shall turn to gold. But no one failing in his first can 
succeed in a second attempt; and if any one shall cast unholy water 
into the river it will overwhelm him, and he will become a black 
stone.” So saying, the King of the Golden River turned away and 
deliberately walked into the center of the hottest flame of the furnace. 
His figure became red, white, transparent, dazzling, — a blaze of 
intense light,— rose, trembled, and disappeared. The King of the 
Golden River had evaporated. 

Oh! cried poor Gluck, running to look up the chimney after 
him; oh, dear, dear, dear me! My mug! my mug! my mug! ” 

CHAPTER III 

HOW MR. HANS SET OFF ON AN EXPEDITION TO THE GOLDEN RIVER, 
AND HOW HE PROSPERED THEREIN 

The King of the Golden River had hardly made the extraordinary 
exit related in the last chapter before Hans and Schwartz came 
roaring into the house very savagely drunk. The discovery of the 
total loss of their last piece of plate had the effect of sobering them 
just enough to enable them to stand over Gluck, beating him very 
steadily for a quarter of an hour; at the expiration of which period 
they dropped into a couple of chairs, and requested to know what 
he had got to say for himself. Gluck told them his story, of which, 
of course, they did not believe a word. They beat him again, till 
their arms were tired, and staggered to bed. In the morning, how- 
ever, the steadiness with which he adhered to his story obtained him 
some degree of credence; the immediate consequence of which was 
that the two brothers, after wrangling a long time on the knotty 
question, Which of them should try his fortune first, drew their 
swords and began fighting. The noise of the fray alarmed the neigh- 
bors, who, finding they could not pacify the combatants, sent for 
the constable. 

Hans, on hearing this, contrived to escape, and hid himself; but 
Schwartz was taken before the magistrate, fined for breaking the 
peace, and having drunk out his last penny the evening before, was 
thrown into prison till he should pay. 

When Hans heard this, he was much delighted, and determined 
to set out immediately for the Golden River. How to get the holy 
water was the question. He went to the priest, but the priest could 
not give any holy water to so abandoned a character. So Hans went 


174 


Types of Childrens Literature 

to vespers in the evening for the first time in his life, and, under 
pretense of crossing himself, stole a cupful and returned home in 
triumph. 

Next morning he got up before the sun rose, put the holy water 
into a strong flask, and two bottles of wine and some meat in a 
basket, slung them over his back, took his alpine staff in his hand, 
and set off for the mountains. 

On his way out of the town he had to pass the prison, and as he 
looked in at the windows, whom should he see but Schwartz himself 
peeping out of the bars, and looking very disconsolate. 

“ Good morning, brother,” said Hans; “have you any message 
for the King of the Golden River? ” 

Schwartz gnashed his teeth with rage, and shook the bars with 
all his strength; but Hans only laughed at him, and advising him 
to make himself comfortable till he came back again, shouldered his 
basket, shook the bottle of holy water in Schwartz’s face till it frothed 
again, and marched off in the highest spirits in the world. 

It was indeed a morning that might have made any one happy, 
even with no Golden River to seek for. Level lines of dewy mist 
lay stretched along the valley, out of which rose the massy moun- 
tains — their lower cliffs in pale gray shadow, hardly distinguishable 
from the floating vapor, but gradually ascending till they caught 
the sunlight, which ran in sharp touches of ruddy color along the 
angular crags, and pierced, in long level rays, through their fringes 
of spear-like pine. Far above, shot up red splintered masses of 
castellated rock, jagged and shivered into myriads of fantastic forms, 
with here and there a streak of sunlit snow, traced down their chasms 
like a line of forked lightning; and far beyond and above all these, 
fainter than the morning cloud, but purer and changeless, slept in 
the blue sky the utmost peaks of the eternal snow. 

The Golden River, which sprang from one of the lower and snow- 
less elevations, was now nearly in shadow; all but the uppermost jets 
of spray, which rose like slow smoke above the undulating line of the 
cataract, and floated away in feeble wreaths upon the morning wind. 

On this object, and on this alone, Hans’ eyes and thoughts were 
fixed; forgetting the distance he had to traverse, he set off at an 
imprudent rate of walking, which greatly exhausted him before he 
had scaled the first range of the green and low hills. He was, more- 
over, surprised on surmounting them, to find that a large glacier, 
of whose existence, notwithstanding his previous knowledge of the 
mountains, he had been absolutely ignorant, lay between him and 


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Fairy Stories and Nursery Tales 

the source of the Golden River. He mounted it though, with the 
boldness of a practiced mountaineer; yet he thought he had never 
traversed so strange or so dangerous a glacier in his life. The ice 
was excessively slippery, and out of all its chasms came wild sounds 
of gushing water; not monotonous or low, but changeful and loud, 
rising occasionally into drifting passages of wild melody, then 
breaking off into short melancholy tones, or sudden shrieks, re- 
sembling those of human voices in distress or pain. The ice was 
broken into thousands of confused shapes, but none, Hans thought, 
like the ordinary forms of splintered ice. There seemed a curious 
expression about all their outlines — a perpetual resemblance to liv- 
ing features, distorted and scornful. Myriads of deceitful shadows, 
and lurid lights, played and floated about and through the pale blue 
pinnacles, dazzling and confusing the sight of the traveler; while his 
ears grew dull and his head giddy with the constant gush and roar 
of the concealed waters. These painful circumstances increased 
upon him as he advanced; the ice crashed and yawned into fresh 
chasms at his feet, tottering spires nodded around him, and fell 
thundering across his path; and though he had repeatedly faced 
these dangers on the most terrific glaciers, and in the wildest 
weather, it was with a new and oppressive feeling of panic terror 
that he leaped the last chasm, and flung himself, exhausted and 
shuddering, on the firm turf of the mountain. 

He had been compelled to abandon his basket of food, which 
became a perilous incumbrance on the glacier, and had now no 
means of refreshing himself but by breaking off and eating some of 
the pieces of ice. This, however, relieved his thirst; an hour’s 
repose recruited his hardy frame, and with the indomitable spirit of 
avarice, he resumed his laborious journey. 

His way now lay straight up a ridge of bare red rocks, without 
a blade of grass to ease the foot, or a projecting angle to afford 
an inch of shade from the south sun. It was past noon, and the 
rays beat intensely upon the steep path, while the whole atmosphere 
was motionless, and penetrated with heat. Intense thirst was soon 
added to the bodily fatigue with which Hans was now afflicted; glance 
after glance he cast at the flask of water which hung at his belt. 
“Three drops are enough,” at last thought he; “I may, at least, 
cool my lips with it.” 

He opened the flask, and was raising it to his lips, when his eye 
fell on an object lying on the rock beside him; he thought it moved. 
It was a small dog, apparently in the last agony of death from thirst. 


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Types of Children s Literature 

Its tongue was out, its jaws dry, its limbs extended lifelessly, and a 
swarm of black ants were crawling about its lips and throat. Its eye 
moved to the bottle which Hans held in his hand. He raised it, 
drank, spurned the animal with his foot, and passed on. And he 
did not know how it was, but he thought that a strange shadow had 
suddenly come across the blue sky. 

The path became steeper and more rugged every moment; and the 
high hill air, instead of refreshing him, seemed to throw his blood 
into $ fever. The noise of the hill cataracts sounded like mockery 
in his ears; they were all distant, and his thirst increased every 
moment. Another hour passed, and he again looked down to the 
flask at his side; it was half empty, but there was much more than 
three drops in it. He stopped to open it, and again, as he did so, 
something moved in the path above him. It was a fair child, 
stretched nearly lifeless on the rock, its breast heaving with thirst, 
its eyes closed, and its lips parched and burning. Hans eyed it 
deliberately, drank, and passed on. And a dark gray cloud came 
over the sun, and long, snake-like shadows crept up along the moun- 
tain sides. Hans struggled on. The sun was sinking, but its descent 
seemed to bring no coolness; the leaden weight of the dead air 
pressed upon his brow and heart, but the goal was near. He saw 
the cataract of the Golden River springing from the hillside, scarcely 
five hundred feet above him. He paused for a moment to breathe, 
and sprang on to complete his task. 

At this instant a faint cry fell on his ear. He turned, and saw a 
gray-haired old man extended on the rocks. His eyes were sunk, 
his features deadly pale, and gathered into an expression of despair. 

“ Water! ” he stretched his arms to Hans, and cried feebly, 44 Water! 

I am dying.” 

44 1 have none,” replied Hans; 44 thou hast had thy share of life.” ‘ 
He strode over the prostrate body, and darted on. And a flash of 
blue lightning rose out of the east, shaoed like a sword; it shook 
thrice over the whole heaven, and left it dark with one heavy, impen- 
etrable shade. The sun was setting; it plunged towards the horizon 
like a red-hot ball. 

The roar of the Golden River rose on Hans’ ear. He stood at the 
brink of the chasm through which it ran. Its waves were filled with 
the red glory of the sunset; they shook their crests like tongues 
of fire, and flashes of bloody light gleamed along their foam. Their 
sound came mightier and mightier on his senses; his brain grew 
giddy with the prolonged thunder. Shuddering, he drew the flask 


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Fairy Stories and Nursery Tales 

from his girdle, and hurled it into the center of the torrent. As he 
did so, an icy chill shot through his limbs; he staggered, shrieked, 
and fell. The waters closed over his cry. And the moaning of 
the river rose wildly into the night, as it gushed over 

The Black Stone. 

CHAPTER IV 

HOW MR. SCHWARTZ SET OFF ON AN EXPEDITION TO THE GOLDEN 
RIVER, AND HOW HE PROSPERED THEREIN 

Poor little Gluck waited very anxiously alone in the house for 
Hans’ return. Finding he did not come back, he was terribly fright- 
ened, and went and told Schwartz in the prison all that had hap- 
pened. Then Schwartz was very much pleased, and said that Hans 
must certainly have been turned into a black stone, and he should 
have all the gold to himself. But Gluck was very sorry, and cried 
all night. When he got up in the morning, there was no bread in 
the house, nor any money; so Gluck went and hired himself to an- 
other goldsmith, and he worked so hard, and so neatly, and so long 
every day, that he soon got money enough together to pay his 
brother’s fine, and he went and gave it all to Schwartz, and Schwartz 
got out of prison. Then Schwartz was quite pleased, and said he 
should have some of the gold of the river. But Gluck only begged 
he would go and see what had become of Hans. 

Now, when Schwartz had heard that Hans had stolen the holy 
water, he thought to himself that such a proceeding might not be 
considered altogether correct by the King of the Golden River, and 
determined to manage matters better. So he took some more of 
Gluck’s money, and went to a bad priest, who gave him some holy 
water very readily for it. Then Schwartz was sure it was all quite 
right. So Schwartz got up early in the morning before the sun rose, 
and took some bread and wine in a basket, and put his holy water in 
a flask, and set off for the mountains. Like his brother, he was 
much surprised at the sight of the glacier, and had great difficulty 
in crossing it, even after leaving his basket behind him. The day was 
cloudless, but not bright; there was a heavy purple haze hanging 
over the sky, and the hills looked lowering and gloomy. And as 
Schwartz climbed the steep rock path, the thirst came upon him, as 
it had upon his brother, until he lifted his flask to his lips to drink. 
Then he saw the fair child lying near him on the rocks, and it 


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Types of Children s Literature 

cried to him, and moaned for water. “ Water, indeed,” said 
Schwartz ; “ I haven’t half enough for myself,” and passed on. And 
as he went he thought the sunbeams grew more dim, and he saw a 
low bank of black cloud rising out of the west; and when he had 
climbed for another hour the thirst overcame him again, and he 
would have drunk. Then he saw the old man lying before him on 
the path, and heard him cry out for water. “ Water, indeed,” said 
Schwartz; “ I haven’t half enough for myself,” and on he went. 

Then again the light seemed to fade from before his eyes, and 
he looked up, and, behold, a mist, of the color of blood, had come 
over the sun; and the bank of black cloud had risen very high, 
and its edges were tossing and tumbling like the waves of the angry 
sea. And they cast long shadows, which flickered over Schwartz’s 
path. 

Then Schwartz climbed for another hour, and again his thirst 
returned; and as he lifted his flask to his lips, he thought he saw 
his brother Hans lying exhausted on the path before him, and, as he 
gazed, the figure stretched its arms to him, and cried for water. 
“ Ha, ha,” laughed Schwartz, “ are you there? remember the prison 
bars, my boy. Water, indeed — do you suppose I carried it all the 
way up here for you!” And he strode over the figure; yet, as he 
passed, he thought he saw a strange expression of mockery about its 
lips. And, when he had gone a few yards farther, he looked back; 
but the figure was not there. 

And a sudden horror came over Schwartz, he knew not why; but 
the thirst for gold prevailed over his fear, and he rushed on. And 
the bank of black cloud rose to the zenith, and out of it came bursts 
of spiry lightning, and waves of darkness seemed to heave and float 
between their flashes, over the whole heavens. And the sky, where 
the sun was setting, was all level, and like a lake of blood; and a 
strong wind came out of that sky, tearing its crimson clouds into 
fragments, and scattering them far into the darkness. And, when 
Schwartz stood by the brink of the Golden River, its waves were 
black, like thunder clouds, but their foam was like fire; and the roar 
of the waters below and the thunder above, met, as he cast the flask 
into the stream. And, as he did so, the lightning glared in his eyes, 
and the earth gave way beneath him, and the waters closed over his 
cry. And the moaning of the river rose wildly into the night, as it 
gushed over the 


Two Black Stones. 


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Fairy Stories and Nursery Tales 

CHAPTER V 

HOW LITTLE GLUCK SET OFF ON AN EXPEDITION TO THE GOLDEN 

RIVER, AND HOW HE PROSPERED THEREIN; WITH OTHER MATTERS 

OF INTEREST 

When Gluck found that Schwartz did not come back, he was very 
sorry, and did not know what to do. He had no money, and he was 
obliged to go and hire himself again to the goldsmith, who worked 
him very hard, and gave him very little money. So, after a month 
or two, Gluck grew tired, and made up his mind to go and try his 
fortune with the Golden Riven 44 The little king looked very kind,” 
thought he. 44 1 don’t think he will turn me into a black stone.” So 
he went to the priest, and the priest gave him some holy water 
as soon as he asked for it. Then Gluck took some bread in his 
basket, and the bottle of water, and set off very early for the moun- 
tains. 

If the glacier had occasioned a great deal of fatigue to his brothers, 
it was twenty times worse for him, who was neither so strong nor so 
practiced on the mountains. He had several very bad falls, lost his 
basket and bread, and was very much frightened at the strange 
noises under the ice. He lay a long time to rest on the grass, after 
he had got over, and began to climb the hill just in the hottest part 
of the day. When he had climbed for an hour, he got dreadfully 
thirsty, and was going to drink, like his brothers, when he saw an 
old man coming down the path above him, looking very feeble, 
and leaning on a staff. 44 My son,” said the old man, 44 1 am faint 
with thirst, give me some of that water.” Then Gluck looked at him, 
and when he saw that he was pale and weary, he gave him the water ; 
44 Only, pray, don’t drink it all,” said Gluck. But the old man drank 
a great deal, and gave him back the bottle two-thirds empty. Then 
he bade him good speed, and Gluck went on again merrily. And 
the path became easier to his feet, and two or three blades of grass 
appeared upon it, and some grasshoppers began singing on the bank 
beside it; and Gluck thought he had never heard such merry singing. 

Then he went on for another hour, and the thirst increased on him 
so that he thought he should be forced to drink. But, as he raised 
the flask, he saw a little child lying panting by the roadside, and 
it cried out piteously for water. Then Gluck struggled with him- 
self, and determined to bear the thirst a little longer; and he put 
the bottle to the child’s lips, and it drank it all but a few drops. 
Then it smiled on him, and got up, and ran down the hill; and 


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Types of Children s Literature 

Gluck looked after it, till it became as small as a little star, and 
then turned and began climbing again. And then there were all 
kinds of sweet flowers growing on the rocks, bright green moss with 
pale pink starry flowers, and soft belled gentians more blue than 
the sky at its deepest, and pure white transparent lilies. And crim- 
son and purple butterflies darted hither and thither, and the sky 
sent down such pure light, that Gluck had never felt so happy in his 
life. 

Yet, when he had climbed for another hour, his thirst became 
intolerable again; and, when he looked at his bottle, he saw that 
there were only five or six drops left in it, and he could not venture 
to drink. And, as he was hanging the flask to his belt again, he saw 
a little dog lying on the rocks, gasping for breath — just as Hans 
had seen it on the day of his ascent. And Gluck stopped and looked 
at it, and then at the Golden River, not five hundred yards above him; 
and he thought of the dwarf’s word, “ that no one could succeed, 
except in his first attempt”; and he tried to pass the dog, but it 
whined piteously, and Gluck stopped again. “ Poor beastie,” said 
Gluck, 44 it’ll be dead when I come down again, if I don’t help it.” 
Then he looked closer and closer at it, and its eye turned on him so 
mournfully, that he could not stand it. 44 Confound the King, and 
his gold too,” said Gluck; and he opened the flask, and poured all 
the water into the dog’s mouth. 

The dog sprang up and stood on its hind legs. Its tail disap- 
peared, its ears became long, longer, silky, golden; its nose became 
very red, its eyes became very twinkling; in three seconds the dog 
was gone, and before Gluck stood his old acquaintance, the King 
of the Golden River. 

“Thank you,” said the monarch; 44 but don’t be frightened, it’s 
all right”; for Gluck showed manifest symptoms of consternation 
at this unlooked-for reply to his last observation. 44 Why didn’t you 
come before,” continued the dwarf, 44 instead of sending me those 
rascally brothers of yours, for me to have the trouble of turning 
into stones? Very hard stones they make too.” 

44 Oh, dear me! ” said Gluck, 44 have you really been so cruel? ” 

“Cruel! ” said the dwarf; 44 they poured unholy water into my 
stream: do you suppose I’m going to allow that? ” 

44 Why,” said Gluck, 44 1 am sure, sir — your Majesty, I mean — 
they got the water out of the church font.” 

44 Very probably,” replied the dwarf; 44 but,” and his countenance 
grew stern as he spoke, 44 the water which has been refused to the cry 


Fairy Stories and Nursery Tales 181 

of the weary and dying, is unholy, though it had been blessed by 
every saint in heaven; and the water which is found in the vessel 
of mercy is holy, though it had been defiled with corpses.” 

So saying, the dwarf stooped and plucked a lily that grew at 
his feet. On its white leaves there hung three drops of clear dew. 
And the dwarf shook them into the flask which Gluck held in his 
hand. “ Cast these into the river,” he said, “ and descend on the 
other side of the mountains into the Treasure Valley. And so good 
speed.” 

As he spoke, the figure of the dwarf became indistinct. The 
playing colors of his robe formed themselves into a prismatic mist 
of dewy light; he stood for an instant veiled with them as with the 
belt of a broad rainbow. The colors grew faint, the mist rose into 
the air; the monarch had evaporated. 

And Gluck climbed to the brink of the Golden River, and its waves 
were as clear as crystal, and as brilliant as the sun. And, when he 
cast the three drops of dew into the stream, there opened where 
they fell a small circular whirlpool, into which the waters descended 
with a musical noise. 

Gluck stood watching it for some time, very much disappointed, 
because not only the river was not turned into gold, but its waters 
seemed much diminished in quantity. Yet he obeyed his friend 
the dwarf, and descended the other side of the mountains, toward the 
Treasure Valley; and, as he went, he thought he heard the noise of 
water working its way under the ground. And, when he came in 
sight of the Treasure Valley, behold, a river, like the Golden River, 
was springing from a new cleft of the rocks above it, and was flowing 
in innumerable streams among the dry heaps of red sand. 

And as Gluck gazed, fresh grass sprang beside the new streams, 
and creeping plants grew, and climbed among the moistening soil. 
Young flowers opened suddenly along the river sides, as stars leap 
out when twilight is deepening, and thickets of myrtle, and tendrils 
of vine, cast lengthening shadows over the valley as they grew. 
And thus the Treasure Valley became a garden again, and the in- 
heritance which had been lost by cruelty was regained by love. 

And Gluck went and dwelt in the valley, and the poor were never 
driven from his door: so that his barns became full of corn, and his 
house .of treasure. And, for him, the river had, according to the 
dwarf’s promise, become a River of Gold. 

And, to this day, the inhabitants of the valley point out the place 
where the three drops of holy dew were cast into the stream, and 


182 Types of Childrens Literature 

trace the course of the Golden River under the ground, until it 
emerges in the Treasure Valley. And at the top of the cataract 
of the Golden River are still to be seen TWO black stones, round 
which the waters howl mournfully every day at sunset; and these 
stones are still called by the people of the valley The Black 
Brothers. 


THE ORIENTAL WONDER STORY 

THE STORY OF ALADDIN; OR, THE WONDERFUL 
LAMP 

In the capital of one of the large and rich provinces of the king- 
dom of China, the name of which I do not recollect, there lived a 
tailor, named Mustapha, who was so poor, that he could hardly, 
by his daily labor, maintain himself and his family, which con- 
sisted of a wife and son. 

His son, who was called Aladdin, had been brought up in a very 
careless and idle manner, and by that means had contracted many 
vicious habits. He was wicked, obstinate, and disobedient to his 
father and mother, who, when he grew up, could not keep him 
within doors. He was in the habit of going out early in the morn- 
ing, and would stay out all day, playing in the streets and public 
places with idle children of his own age. 

When he was old enough to learn a trade, his father, not being 
able to put him out to any other, took him into his own shop, and 
taught him how to use his needle; but neither fair words nor the 
fear of chastisement were capable of fixing his lively genius. All 
his father’s endeavors to keep him to his work were in vain; for 
no sooner was his back turned, than he was gone for the day. 
Mustapha chastised him, but Aladdin was incorrigible and his father, 
to his great grief, was forced to abandon him to his idleness: and 
was so much troubled at not being able to reclaim him, that it threw 
him into a fit of sickness, of which he died in a few months. 

The mother, finding that her son would not follow his father’s 
business, shut up the shop, sold off the implements of trade, and with 
the money she received for them, and what she could get by spinning 
cotton, thought to maintain herself and her son. 

Aladdin, who was now no longer restrained by the fear of a 
father, and who cared so little for his mother, that whenever she 
chid him, he would abuse her, gave himself entirely over to his 
idle habits, and was never out of the streets from his companions. 
This course he followed till he was fifteen years old, without giving 
his mind to any useful pursuit, or the least reflection on what would 
become of him. In this situation, as he was one day playing accord- 
ing to custom, in the street, with his vagabond associates, a stranger 
passing by stood to observe him. 

183 


184 


Types of Childrens Literature 

This stranger was a sorcerer, called by the writer of this story, 
the African magician; and by the name I shall call him with the 
more propriety as he was a native of Africa, and had been but 
two days arrived from thence. 

The African magician, who was a good physiognomist, observing 
in Aladdin’s countenance something absolutely necessary for the 
execution of the design he was engaged in, inquired artfully about 
his family, who he was, and what were his inclinations; and when 
he had learned all he desired to know, went up to him, and taking 
him aside from his comrades, said, “ Child, was not your father 
called Mustapha the tailor? ” “ Yes, sir,” answered the boy; “but 

he has been dead a long time.” 

At these words, the African magician threw his arms about Alad- 
din’s neck, and kissed him several times with tears in his eyes. 
Aladdin, who observed his tears, asked him what made him weep. 
“Alas! my son,” cried the African magician with a sigh, “how 
can I forbear? I am your uncle; your worthy father was my own 
brother. I have been many years abroad, and now I am come home 
with the hopes of seeing him, you tell me he is dead. I assure 
you it is a sensible grief to me to be deprived of the comfort I 
expected. But it is some relief to my affliction, that as far as I can 
remember him, I knew you at first sight, you are so like him; and 
I see I am not deceived.” Then he asked Aladdin, putting his hand 
into his purse, where his mother lived, and as soon as he had in- 
formed him, gave him a handful of small money, saying, “ Go, my 
son, to your mother, give my love to her, and tell her that I will 
visit her tomorrow, if I have time, that I may have the satisfac- 
tion of seeing where my good brother lived so long, and ended his 
days.” 

As soon as the African magician left his newly adopted nephew, 
Aladdin ran to his mother, overjoyed at the money his uncle had 
given him. “ Mother,” said he, “ have I an uncle? ” “ No, child,” 

replied his mother, “ you have no uncle by your father’s side, or 
mine.” “ I am just now come,” said Aladdin, “ from a man who 
says he is my uncle by my father’s side, assuring me that he is his 
brother. He cried and kissed me when I told him my father was 
dead; and to show you that what I tell you is truth,” he added, pull- 
ing out the money, “ see what he has given me ; he charged me to 
give his love to you, and to tell you, if he has any time tomorrow, 
he will come and pay you a visit, that he may see the house my 
father lived and died in.” “ Indeed, child,” replied the mother, 


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The Oriental Wonder Story 

your father had a brother, but he has been dead a long time, and 
I never heard of another.” 

The mother and son talked no more then of the African magician ; 
but the next day Aladdin’s uncle found him playing in another part 
of the town with other children, and embracing him as before, put 
two pieces of gold into his hand, and said to him, “ Carry this, child, 
to your mother, tell her that I will come and see her tonight, and 
bid her get us something for supper; but first show me the house 
where you live.” 

After Aladdin had showed the African magician the house, he 
carried the two pieces of gold to his mother, and when he had told 
her of his uncle’s intention, she went out and bought provisions; 
and considering she wanted various utensils, borrowed them of her 
neighbors. She spent the whole day in preparing the supper; and 
at night when it was ready, said to her son, “ Perhaps your uncle 
knows not how to find our house; go and bring him if you meet with 
him.” 

Though Aladdin had shown the magician the house, he was ready 
to go, when somebody knocked at the door, which he immediately 
opened: and the magician came in loaded with wine, and all sorts 
of fruits, which he brought for a dessert. 

After the African magician had given what he brought into Alad- 
din’s hands, he saluted his mother, and desired her to show him the 
place where his brother Mustapha used to sit on the sofa; and when 
she had so done, he fell down and kissed it several times, crying 
out with tears in his eyes, “My poor brother! how unhappy am I, 
not to have come soon enough to give you one last embrace.” Alad- 
din’s mother desired him to sit down in the same place, but he 
declined. “No,” said he, “I shall take care how I do that; but 
give me leave to sit opposite to it, that although I am deprived 
of the satisfaction of seeing the master of a family so dear to me, 
I may at least have the pleasure of beholding the place where he 
used to sit.” The widow pressed him no farther, but left him at 
liberty to sit where he pleased. 

When the magician had made choice of a place, and sat down, 
he began to enter into discourse with Aladdin’s mother: “My 
good sister,” said he, “do not be surprised at your never having 
seen me all the time you have been married to my brother Mustapha 
of happy memory. I have been forty years absent from this coun- 
try, which is my native place, as well as my late brother’s; and 
during that time have traveled into the Indies, Persia, Arabia, Syria, 


186 


Types of Children s Literature 

and Egypt, have resided in the finest towns of those countries; and 
afterwards crossed over into Africa, where I made a longer stay. 
At last, as it is natural for a man, how distant soever it may be, 
to remember his native country, relations, and acquaintance, I was 
desirous to see mine again, and to embrace my dear brother; and 
finding I had strength enough to undertake so long a journey, I 
immediately made the necessary preparations, and set out. I will 
not tell you the length of time it took me, all the obstacles I met 
with, and what fatigues I have endured, to come hither; but nothing 
ever mortified and afflicted me so much, as hearing of my brother’s 
death, for whom I always had a brotherly love and friendship. I 
observed his features in the face of my nephew, your son, and dis- 
tinguished him among a number of children with whom he was at 
play; he can tell you how I received the most melancholy news 
that ever reached my ears. But God be praised for all things! It 
is a comfort for me to find, as it were, my brother in a son, who has 
his most remarkable features.” 

The African magician, perceiving that the widow began to weep 
at the remembrance of her husband, changed the conversation, and 
turning towards her son, asked him his name. “ I am called Alad- 
din,” said he. “ Well, Aladdin,” replied the magician, “ what busi- 
ness do you follow? Are you of any trade? ” 

At this question the youth hung down his head, and was not a 
little abashed when his mother answered, “ Aladdin is an idle fellow; 
his father, when alive, strove all he could to teach him his trade, 
but could not succeed; and since his death, notwithstanding all I can 
say to him, he does nothing but idle away his time in the street, 
as you saw him, without considering he is no longer a child; and 
if you do not make him ashamed of it, I despair of his ever coming 
to any good. He knows that his father left him no fortune, and sees 
me endeavor to get bread by spinning cotton; for my part, I am 
resolved' one of these days to turn him out of doors and let him 
provide for himself.” 

After these words, Aladdin’s mother burst into tears; and the 
magician said, “ This is not well, nephew; you must think of helping 
yourself, and getting your livelihood. There are many sorts of 
trades, consider if you have not an inclination to some of them; 
perhaps you did not like your father’s, and would prefer another: 
come, do not disguise your sentiments from me; I will endeavor to 
help you.” But finding that Aladdin returned no answer, “ If you 
have no mind,” continued he, “ to learn any handicraft, I will take 


187 


The Oriental Wonder Story 

a shop for you, furnish it with all sorts of fine stuffs and linens; 
and with the money you make of them lay in fresh goods and then 
you will live in an honorable way. Consult your inclinations, and 
tell me freely what you think of my proposal : you shall always find 
me ready to keep my word.” 

This plan greatly flattered Aladdin, who hated work, but had 
sense enough to know that such shops were much frequented, and 
the owners respected. He told the magician he had a greater in- 
clination to that business than to any other, and that he should be 
much obliged to him for his kindness. “ Since this profession is 
agreeable to you,” said the African magician, “ I will carry you 
with me tomorrow, clothe you as handsomely as the best merchants 
in the city, and afterwards we will think of opening a shop as I 
mentioned.” 

The widow, who never till then could believe that the magician 
was her husband’s brother, no longer doubted after his promises of 
kindness to her son. She thanked him for his good intentions; and 
after having exhorted Aladdin to render himself worthy of his 
uncle’s favor by good behavior, served up supper, at which they 
talked of several indifferent matters; and then the magician, who 
saw that the night was pretty far advanced, took his leave, and 
retired. 

He came again the next day, as he had promised, and took Aladdin 
with him to a merchant, who sold all sorts of clothes for different 
ages and ranks ready made, and a variety of fine stuffs. He asked 
to see some that suited Aladdin in size; and after choosing a 
suit for himself which he liked best, and rejecting others which 
he did not think handsome enough, he bade Aladdin choose the 
one he preferred. Aladdin, charmed with the liberality of his 
new uncle, made choice of one, and the magician immediately paid 
for it. 

When Aladdin found himself so handsomely equipped, he re- 
turned his uncle thanks; who promised never to forsake him, but 
always to take him along with him; which he did to the most 
frequented places in the city, and particularly where the principal 
merchants kept their shops. When he brought him into the street 
where they sold the richest stuffs, and finest linens, he said to 
Aladdin, “ As you are soon to be a merchant, it is proper you should 
frequent these shops, and be acquainted with them.” He then 
showed him the largest and finest mosques, carried him to the khans 
or inns where the merchants and travelers lodged, and afterwards to 


188 Types of Childrens Literature 

the sultan’s palace, where he had free access; and at last brought 
him to his own khan, where meeting with some merchants he had 
become acquainted with since his arrival, he gave them a treat, to 
bring them and his pretended nephew acquainted. 

This entertainment lasted till night, when Aladdin would have 
taken leave of his uncle to go home; the magician would not let 
him go by himself, but conducted him to his mother, who, as soon 
as she saw him so well dressed, was transported with joy, and 
bestowed a thousand blessings upon the magician, for being at so 
great an expense upon her child. “ Generous relation ! ” said she, 
“I know not how to thank you for your liberality! I know that 
my son is not deserving of your favors; and were he ever so grate- 
ful, and answered your good intentions, he would be unworthy of 
them. I thank you with all my soul, and wish you may live long 
enough to witness my son’s gratitude, which he cannot better show 
than by regulating his conduct by your good advice.” 

“ Aladdin,” replied the magician, “ is a good boy, and I believe 
we shall do very well; but I am sorry for one thing, which is, 
that I cannot perform tomorrow what I promised, because, as it is 
Friday, the shops will be shut up, and therefore we cannot hire or 
furnish one, but must wait till Saturday. I will, however, call on 
him tomorrow and take him to walk in the gardens, where people 
of the best fashion generally resort. Perhaps he has never seen 
these amusements, he has only hitherto been among children; but 
now he must see men.” The African magician took his leave of the 
mother and the son, and retired. Aladdin, who was overjoyed to be 
so well clothed, anticipated the pleasure of walking in the gardens. 
He had never been out of the town, nor seen the environs, which 
were very beautiful and pleasant. 

Aladdin rose early the next morning, dressed himself, to be ready 
against his uncle called on him; and after he had waited some time, 
began to be impatient, and stood watching at the door; but as 
soon as he perceived him coming, he told his mother, took his leave 
of her, and ran to meet him. 

The magician caressed Aladdin, and said, “ Come, my dear child, 
and I will show you fine things.” He then led him out at one of 
the gates of the city, to some magnificent houses, or rather palaces, 
to each of which belonged beautiful gardens, into which anybody 
might enter. At every building he came to, he asked Aladdin if he 
did not think it fine; and the youth was ready to answer when any 
one presented itself, crying out, “ Here is a finer house, uncle, than 


189 


The Oriental Wonder Story 

we have seen yet.” By this artifice, the cunning magician led Alad- 
din some way into the country; and as he meant to carry him 
farther, to execute his design, he took an opportunity to sit down 
in one of the gardens on the brink of a fountain of clear water, 
which discharged itself by a lion’s mouth of bronze into a basin, 
pretending to be tired : “ Come, nephew,” said he, 44 you must 

be weary as well as I; let us rest ourselves, and we shall be better 
able to pursue our walk.” 

After they had sat down, the magician pulled from his girdle a 
handkerchief with cakes and fruit, which he had provided, and laid 
them on the edge of the basin. He broke a cake in two, gave one 
half to Aladdin, and ate the other himself; and in regard to the 
fruit, left him at liberty to take which sort he liked best. During 
this short repast, he exhorted his nephew to leave off keeping com- 
pany with vagabonds, and seek that of wise and prudent men, to 
improve by their conversation ; 44 for,” said he, 44 you will soon be 
at man’s estate, and you cannot too early begin to imitate their 
example.” When they had eaten as much as they liked, they got 
up, and pursued their walk through gardens separated from one 
another only by small ditches, which marked out the limits without 
interrupting the communication; so great was the confidence the 
inhabitants reposed in each other. By this means, the African ma- 
gician drew Aladdin insensibly beyond the gardens, and crossed 
the country, till they nearly reached the mountains. 

Aladdin, who had never been so far before, began to find himself 
much tired with so long a walk, and said to the magician, 44 Where 
are we going, uncle? We have left the gardens a great way behind 
us, and I see nothing but mountains; if we go much farther, I 
do not know whether I shall be able to reach the town again.” 
44 Never fear, nephew,” said the false uncle; 44 1 will show you an- 
other garden which surpasses all we have yet seen; it is not far 
off ; and when we come there, you will say that you would have been 
sorry to have been so nigh, and not seen it.” Aladdin was soon 
persuaded, and the magician, to make the way seem shorter and 
less fatiguing, told him a great many stories. 

At last they arrived between two mountains of moderate height, 
and equal size, divided by a narrow valley, which was the place 
where the magician intended to execute the design that had brought 
him from Africa to China. 44 We will go no farther now,” said he 
to Aladdin: 44 1 will show you here some extraordinary things, 
which, when you have seen, you will thank me for: but while I 


190 


Types of Childrens Literature 

strike a light, gather up all the loose dry sticks you can see, to 
kindle a fire with.” 

Aladdin found so many dried sticks, that before the magician had 
lighted a match, he had collected a great heap. The magician pres- 
ently set them on fire, and when they were in a blaze, threw in some 
incense which raised a cloud of smoke. This he dispersed on each 
side, by pronouncing several magical words which Aladdin did not 
understand. 

At the same time the earth trembling, opened just before the 
magician, and uncovered a stone, laid horizontally, with a brass ring 
fixed into the middle. Aladdin was so frightened at what he saw, 
that he would have run away; but the magician caught hold of 
him, abused him, and gave him such a box on the ear, that he 
knocked him down. Aladdin got up trembling, and with tears in 
his eyes, said to the magician, “ What have I done, uncle, to be 
treated in this severe manner? ” “ I have my reasons,” answered 

the magician : “ I am your uncle, I supply the place of your 

father, and you ought to make no reply. But, child,” added he, 
softening, “do not be afraid; for I shall not ask anything of you, 
but that you obey me punctually, if you would reap the advantages 
which I intend you.” These fair promises calmed Aladdin’s fears 
and resentment; and when the magician saw that he was appeased, 
he said to him, “ You see what I have done by virtue of my incense, 
and the words I pronounced. Know, then, that under this stone 
there is hidden a treasure, destined to be yours, and which will 
make you richer than the greatest monarch in the world: no person 
but yourself is permitted to lift this stone, or enter the cave; so you 
must punctually execute what I may command, for it is a matter 
of great consequence both to you and me.” 

Aladdin, amazed at all he saw, and heard the magician say of the 
treasure which was to make him happy, forgot what was past, and 
rising, said, “ Well, uncle, what is to be done? Command me, I 
am ready to obey.” “ I am overjoyed, child,” said the African 
magician, embracing him; “take hold of the ring, and lift up 
that stone.” “ Indeed, uncle,” replied Aladdin, “ I am not strong 
enough, you must help me.” “ You have no occasion for my assist- 
ance,” answered the magician; “if I help you, we shall be able to 
do nothing; take hold of the ring, pronounce the names of your 
father and grandfather, then lift it up, and you will find it will 
come easily.” Aladdin did as the magician bade him, raised the 
stone with ease, and laid it on one side. 


191 


The Oriental Wonder Story 

When the stone was pulled up, there appeared a cavity of about 
three or four feet deep, with a little door, and steps to go down lower. 
“ Observe, my son,” said the African magician, “ what I direct. 
Descend into the cave, and when you are at the bottom of those 
steps you will find a door open, which will lead you into a spacious 
vault, divided into three great halls, in each of which you will 
see four large brass cisterns placed on each side, full of gold and 
silver; but take care you do not meddle with them. Before you enter 
the first hall, be sure to tuck up your vest, wrap it about you, and 
then pass through the second into the third without stopping. Above 
all things, have a care that you do not touch the walls, so much as 
with your clothes; for if you do, you will die instantly. At the end 
of the third hall, you will find a door which opens into a garden 
planted with fine trees loaded with fruit; walk directly across the 
garden by a path which will lead you to five steps that will bring 
you upon a terrace, where you will see a niche before you, and in that 
niche a lighted lamp. Take the lamp down, and extinguish it: 
when you have thrown away the wick, and poured out the liquor, 
put it in your vestband and bring it to me. Do not be afraid that the 
liquor will spoil your clothes, for it is not oil; and the lamp will 
be dry as soon as it is thrown out. If you should wish for any 
of the fruit of the garden,. you may gather as much as you please.” 

After these words, the magician drew a ring off his finger, and put 
it on one of Aladdin’s, telling him that it was a preservative against 
all evil, while he should observe what he had prescribed to him. 
After this instruction he said, “ Go down boldly, child, and we 
shall both be rich all our lives.” 

Aladdin jumped into the cave, descended the steps, and found 
the three halls just as the African magician had described. He 
went through them with all the precaution the fear of death could 
inspire; crossed the garden without stopping, took down the lamp 
from the niche, threw out the wick and the liquor, and, as the 
magician had desired, put it in his vestband. But as he came 
down from the terrace, seeing it was perfectly dry, he stopped in 
the garden to observe the fruit, which he only had a glimpse of in 
crossing it. All the trees were loaded with extraordinary fruit, of 
different colors on each tree. Some bore fruit entirely white, and 
some clear and transparent as crystal; some pale red, and others 
deeper; some green, blue, and purple, and others yellow: in short, 
there was fruit of all colors. The white were pearls; the clear and 
transparent, diamonds; the deep red, rubies; the paler, balas rubies; 


192 


Types of Childrens Literature 

the green, emeralds; the blue, turquoises; the purple, amethysts; 
and those that were of yellow cast, sapphires. Aladdin was alto- 
gether ignorant of their worth, and would have preferred figs and 
grapes, or any other fruits. But though he took them only for 
colored glass of little value, yet he was so pleased with the variety 
of the colors, and the beauty and extraordinary size of the seeming 
fruit, that he resolved to gather some of every sort, and accordingly 
filled the two new purses his uncle had bought for him with his 
clothes. Some he wrapped up in the skirts of his vest, which was 
of silk, large and wrapping, and crammed his bosom as full as it 
could hold. 

Aladdin, having thus loaded himself with riches he knew not the 
value of, returned through the three halls with the same precaution, 
made all the haste he could, that he might not make his uncle wait, 
and soon arrived at the mouth of the cave, where the African ma- 
gician expected him with the utmost impatience. As soon as Alad- 
din saw him, he cried out, 44 Pray, uncle, lend me your hand, to help 
me out.” 44 Give me the lamp first,” replied the magician; 44 it will 
be troublesome to you.” 44 Indeed, uncle,” answered Aladdin, 44 1 
cannot now; it is not troublesome to me: but I will as soon as I am 
up.” The African magician was so obstinate, that he would have 
the lamp before he would help him up ; and Aladdin, who had encum- 
bered himself so much with his fruit that he could not well get at it, 
refused to give it to him till he was out of the cave. The African 
magician, provoked at this obstinate refusal, flew into a passion, 
threw a little of his incense into the fire, which he had taken care to 
keep in, and no sooner pronounced two magical words, than the 
stone which had closed the mouth of the cave moved into its place, 
with the earth over it in the same manner as it lay at the arrival 
of the magician and Aladdin. 

This action of the African magician’s plainly showed him to be 
neither Aladdin’s uncle, nor Mustapha the tailor’s brother: but a 
true African. Africa is a country whose inhabitants delight most in 
magic of any in the whole world, and he had applied himself to 
it from his youth. After forty years’ experience in enchantments, 
geomancy, fumigations, and reading of magic books, he had found 
out that there was in the world a wonderful lamp, the possession of 
which would render him more powerful than any monarch; and 
by a late operation of geomancy, he had discovered that this lamp 
lay concealed in a subterraneous place in the midst of China, in 
the situation already described. Fully persuaded of the truth of 


193 


The Oriental Wonder Story 

this discovery, he set out from the farthest part of Africa; and 
after a long and fatiguing journey, came to the town nearest to this 
treasure. But though he had a certain knowledge of the place where 
the lamp was, he was not permitted to take it himself, nor to enter 
the subterraneous place, but must receive it from the hands of another 
person. For this reason he had addressed himself to Aladdin, whom 
he looked upon as a young lad whose life was of no consequence, and 
fit to serve his purpose, resolving, as soon as he should get the lamp 
into his hands, to sacrifice him to his avarice and wickedness, by 
making the fumigation mentioned before, and repeating two magical 
words, the effect of which would remove the stone into its place, so 
that no witness would remain of the transaction. 

The blow he had given Aladdin was intended to make him obey 
the more readily, and give him the lamp as soon as he should ask 
for it. But his too great precipitation, and fear lest somebody 
should come that way during their dispute, and discover what hje 
wished to keep secret, produced an effect quite contrary to what he 
had proposed to himself. 

When the African magician saw that all his hopes were frus- 
trated forever, he returned the same day for Africa; but went quite 
round the town, and at some distance from it, lest some persons who 
had observed him walk out with the boy, on seeing him come back 
without him, should entertain any suspicions, and stop him. 

According to all appearance, there was no prospect of Aladdin 
being any more heard of. But the magician, when he had con- 
trived his death, forgot the ring he had put upon his finger, which 
preserved him, though he knew not its virtue. It may seem astonish- 
ing that the loss of that, together with the lamp, did not drive the 
magician to despair; but magicians are so much used to misfortunes, 
and events contrary to their wishes, that they do not lay them to 
heart, but still feed themselves, to the end of life, with unsubstantial 
notions and chimeras. 

The surprise of Aladdin, who had never suspected this treachery 
from his pretended uncle, after all his caresses and what he had 
done for him, is more easily to be imagined than expressed. When 
he found himself buried alive, he cried, and called out to his uncle, 
to tell him he was ready to give him the lamp ; but in vain, since his 
cries could not be heard. He descended to the bottom of the steps, 
with a design to get into the garden, but the door, which was opened 
before by enchantment, was now shut by the same means. He then 
redoubled his cries and tears, sat down on the steps, without any 


194 


Types of Childrens Literature 

hopes of ever seeing light again, and in a melancholy certainty of 
passing from the present darkness into that of a speedy death. 

Aladdin remained in this state two days, without eating or drink- 
ing, and on the third looked upon death as inevitable. Clasping 
his hands with an entire resignation to the will of God, he said, 
“ There is no strength or power but in the great and high God.” 
In this action of joining his hands he rubbed the ring which the 
magician had put on his finger, and of which he knew not yet the 
virtue. Immediately a genie of enormous size and frightful aspect 
rose out of the earth, his head reaching the roof of the vault, and 
said to him, “ What wouldst thou have? I am ready to obey thee 
as thy slave, and the slave of all who may possess the ring on thy 
finger; I and the other slaves of that ring.” 

At another time, Aladdin, who had not been used to such appear- 
ances, would have been so frightened at the sight of so extraordinary 
a figure that he would not have been able to speak; but the danger 
he was in made him answer without hesitation, “ Whoever thou art, 
deliver me from this place, if thou art able.” He had no sooner 
spoken these words, than he found himself on the very spot where 
the magician had caused the earth to open. 

It was some time before his eyes could bear the light, after being 
so long in total darkness: but after he had endeavored by degrees 
to support it, and began to look about him, he was much surprised 
not to find the earth open, and could not comprehend how he had 
got so soon out of its bowels. There was nothing to be seen but the 
place where the fire had been, by which he could nearly judge the 
situation of the cave. Then turning himself towards the town, he 
perceived it at a distance in the midst of the gardens that surround 
it, and saw the way by which the magician had brought him. Re- 
turning God thanks to find himself once more in the world, he 
made the best of his way home. When he got within his mother’s 
door, the joy to see her and his weakness for want of sustenance for 
three days made him faint, and he remained for a long time as 
dead. His mother, who had given him over for lost, seeing him in 
this condition, omitted nothing to bring him to himself. As soon 
as he recovered, the first words he spoke, were, “ Pray, mother, give 
me something to eat, for I have not put a morsel of anything into 
my mouth these three days.” His mother brought what she had, and 
set it before him. “ My son,” said she, “ be not too eager, for it is 
dangerous; eat but little at a time, and take care of yourself. Be- 
sides, I would not have you talk; you will have time enough to tell 


195 


The Oriental Wonder Story 

me what happened to you when you are recovered. It is a great 
comfort to me to see you again, after the affliction I have been in 
since Friday, and the pains I have taken to learn what was become 
of you.” 

Aladdin took his mother’s advice, and ate and drank moderately. 
When he had done, “ Mother,” said he to her, “ I cannot help com- 
plaining of you, for abandoning me so easily to the discretion of a 
man who had a design to kill me, and who at this very moment 
thinks my death certain. You believed he was my uncle, as well 
as I; and what other thoughts could we entertain of a man who 
was so kind to me, and made such advantageous proffers? But I 
must tell you, mother, he is a rogue and a cheat, and only made 
me those promises to accomplish my death; but for what reason 
neither you nor I can guess. For my part, I can assure you, I never 
gave him any cause to justify the least ill treatment from him. You 
shall judge yourself, when you have heard all that passed from the 
time I left you, till he came to the execution of his wicked design.” 

Aladdin then related to his mother all that' had happened to him 
from the Friday, when the magician took him to see the palaces 
and gardens about the town, and what fell out in the way, till they 
came to the place between the two mountains where the great 
prodigy was to be performed; hoW, with incense which the magician 
threw into the fire, and some magical words which he pronounced, 
the earth opened, and discovered a cave, which led to an inestimable 
treasure. He forgot not the blow the magician had given him, in 
what manner he softened again, and engaged him by great promises, 
and putting a ring to his finger, to go down into the cave. He did 
not omit the least circumstance of what he saw in crossing the three 
halls and the garden, and his taking the lamp, which he pulled out 
of his bosom and showed to his mother, as well as the transparent 
fruit of different colors, which he had gathered in the garden as he 
returned. But, though these fruits were precious stones, brilliant as 
the sun, and the reflection of a lamp which then lighted the room 
might have led them to think they were of great value, she was as 
ignorant of their worth as her son, and cared nothing for them. 
She had been bred in a low rank of life, and her husband’s poverty 
prevented his being possessed of jewels, nor had she, her relations, or 
neighbors, ever seen any; so that we must not wonder that she 
regarded them as things of no value, and only pleasing to the eye 
by the variety of their colors. 

Aladdin put them behind one of the cushions of the sofa, and 


196 Types of Children s Literature 

continued his story, telling his mother, that when he returned to 
the mouth of the cave, upon his refusal to give the magician the 
lamp till he should get out, the stone, by his throwing some incense 
into the fire, and using two or three magical words, shut him in, and 
the earth closed. He could not help bursting into tears at the 
representation of the miserable condition he was in, at finding him- 
self buried alive in a dismal cave, till by the touching of his ring, the 
virtue of which he was till then an entire stranger to, he, properly 
speaking, came to life again. When he had finished his story, he 
said to his mother, “ I need say no more, you know the rest. This 
is my adventure, and the danger I have been exposed to since you saw 
me.” 

Aladdin’s mother heard with so much patience as not to interrupt 
him this surprising and wonderful relation, notwithstanding it could 
be no small affliction to a mother, who loved her son tenderly: but yet 
in the most moving part which discovered the perfidy of the African 
magician, she could not help showing, by marks of the greatest in- 
dignation, how much * she detested him ; and when her son had 
finished his story, she broke out into a thousand reproaches against 
that vile impostor. She called him perfidious traitor, barbarian, as- 
sassin, deceiver, magician, and an enemy and destroyer of mankind. 
“ Without doubt, child,” added she, “ he is a magician, and they 
are plagues to the world, and by their enchantments and sorceries 
have commerce with the devil. Bless God for preserving you from 
his wicked designs; for your death would have been inevitable, if 
you had not called upon him, and implored his assistance.” She 
said a great deal more against the magician’s treachery; but finding 
that whilst she talked, Aladdin, who had not slept for three 
days and nights, began to doze, she left him to his repose and 
retired. 

Aladdin, who had not closed his eyes while he was in the sub- 
terraneous abode, slept very soundly till late the next morning; 
when the first thing he said to his mother was, that he wanted some- 
thing to eat, and that she could not do him a greater kindness than 
to give him his breakfast. “Alas! child,” said she, “I have not 
a bit of bread to give you, you ate up all the provisions I had in the 
house yesterday; but have a little patience, and it shall not be long 
before I will bring you some: I have a little cotton, which I have 
spun; I will go and sell it, buy bread, and something for our din- 
ner.” “ Mother,” replied Aladdin, “ keep your cotton for another 
time, and give me the lamp I brought home with me yesterday; 


The Oriental Wonder Story 197 

I will go and sell it; and the money I shall get for it will serve both 
for breakfast and dinner, and perhaps supper too.” 

Aladdin’s mother took the lamp, and said to her son, “ Here it is, 
but it is very dirty; if it was a little cleaner I believe it would 
bring something more.” She took some fine sand and water to 
clean it; but had no sooner begun to rub it, than in an instant a 
hideous genie of gigantic size appeared before her, and said to 
her in a voice like thunder, “ What wouldst thou have? I am ready 
to obey thee as thy slave, and the slave of all those who have the lamp 
in their hands; I and the other slaves of the lamp.” 

Aladdin’s mother, terrified at the sight of the genie, fainted; when 
Aladdin, who had seen such a phantom in the cavern, snatched the 
lamp out of his mother’s hand, and said to the genie boldly, 44 1 
am hungry, bring me something to eat.” The genie disappeared 
immediately, and in an instant returned with a large silver tray, 
holding twelve covered dishes of the same metal, which contained 
the most delicious viands; six large white bread cakes on two plates, 
two flagons of wine, and two silver cups. All these he placed upon 
a carpet, and disappeared: this was done before Aladdin’s mother 
recovered from her swoon. 

Aladdin had fetched some water, and sprinkled it in her face, 
to recover her: whether that or the smell of the meat brought her 
to life again, it was not long before she came to herself. 44 Mother,” 
said Aladdin, 44 do not mind this; get up, and come and eat; here is 
what will put you in heart, and at the same time satisfy my extreme 
hunger: do not let such delicious meat get cold.” 

His mother was much surprised to see the great tray, twelve 
dishes, six loaves, the two flagons and cups, and to smell the savory 
odor which exhaled from the dishes. 44 Child,” said she, 44 to whom 
are we obliged for this great plenty and liberality? has the sultan 
been made acquainted with our poverty, and had compassion on 
us? ” 44 It is no matter, mother,” said Aladdin, 44 let us sit down and 

eat; for you have almost as much need of a good breakfast as myself; 
when we have done, I will tell you.” Accordingly both mother and 
son sat down, and ate with the better relish as the table was so well 
furnished. But all the time Aladdin’s mother could not forbear 
looking at and admiring the tray and dishes, though she could not 
judge whether they were silver or any other metal, and the novelty 
more than the value attracted her attention. 

The mother and son sat at breakfast till it was dinner-time, and 
then they thought it would be best to put the two meals together; 


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Types of Children s Literature 

yet after this they found they should have enough left for supper, 
and two meals for the next day. 

When Aladdin’s mother had taken away and set by what was left, 
she went and sat down by her son on the sofa, saying, “ I expect now 
that you should satisfy my impatience, and tell me exactly what 
passed between the genie and you while I was in a swoon which 
he readily complied with. 

She was in as great amazement at what her son told her, as at the 
appearance of the genie; and said to him, “ But, son, what have we 
to do with genies? I never heard that any of my acquaintance had 
ever seen one. How came that vile genie to address himself to me, 
and not to you, to whom he had appeared before in the cave? ” 
“ Mother,” answered Aladdin, 44 the genie you saw is not the one who 
appeared to me, though he resembles him in size; no, they had quite 
different persons and habits; they belong to different masters. If 
you remember, he that I first saw, called himself the slave of the 
ring on my finger; and this you saw, called himself the slave of 
the lamp you had in your hand: but I believe you did not hear him, 
for I think you fainted as soon as he began to speak.” 

44 What ! ” cried the mother, 44 was your lamp then the occasion 
of that cursed genie’s addressing himself rather to me than to you? 
Ah! my son, take it out of my sight, and put it where you please. 
I will never touch it. I had rather you would sell it, than run the 
hazard of being frightened to death again by touching it: and if 
you would take my advice, you would part also with the ring, and 
not have anything to do with genies, who, as our prophet has told us, 
are only devils.” 

44 With your leave, mother,” replied Aladdin, 44 1 shall' now take 
care how I sell a lamp, which may be so serviceable both to you 
and me. Have you not been an eye-witness of what it has procured 
us? and it shall still continue to furnish us with subsistence and 
maintenance. You may suppose as I do, that my false and wicked 
uncle would not have taken so much pains, and undertaken so long 
and tedious a journey, if it had not been to get into his possession 
this wonderful lamp, which he preferred before all the gold and 
silver which he knew was in the halls, and which I have seen with 
my own eyes. He knew too well the worth of this lamp, not to pre- 
fer it to so great a treasure; and since chance hath discovered the 
virtue of it to us, let us make a profitable use of it, without making 
any great show, and exciting the envy and jealousy of our neighbors. 
However, since the genies frighten you so much, I will take it out 


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of your sight, and put it where I may find it when I want it. The 
ring I cannot resolve to part with; for without that you had never 
seen me again; and though I am alive now, perhaps, if it was 
gone, I might not be so some moments hence; therefore, I hope 
you will give me leave to keep it, and to wear it always on my finger. 
Who knows what dangers you and I may be exposed to, which 
neither of us can foresee, and from which it may deliver us? ” As 
Aladdin’s arguments were just, his mother had nothing to say 
against them; she only replied, that he might do what he pleased, 
for her part, she would have nothing to do with genies, but would 
wash her hands of them, and never say anything more about 
them. 

By the next night they had eaten all the provisions the genie had 
brought; and the next day Aladdin, who could not bear the thoughts 
of hunger, putting one of the silver dishes under his vest, went out 
early to sell it, and addressing himself to a Jew whom he met in the 
streets, took him aside, and pulling out the plate, asked him if he 
would buy it. The cunning Jew took the dish, examined it, and as 
soon as he found that it was good silver, asked Aladdin at how 
much he valued it. Aladdin, who knew not its value, and never 
had been used to such traffic, told him he would trust to his judg- 
ment and honor. The Jew was somewhat confounded at this plain 
dealing; and doubting whether Aladdin understood the material or 
the full value of what he offered to sell, took a piece of gold out 
of his purse and give it him, though it was but the sixtieth part of 
the worth of the plate. Aladdin, taking the money very eagerly, 
retired with so much haste, that the Jew, not content with the ex- 
orbitancy of his profit, was vexed he had not penetrated into his 
ignorance, and was going to run after him, to endeavor to get some 
change out of the piece of gold; but he ran so fast, and had got so 
far, that it would have been impossible for him to overtake him. 

Before Aladdin went home, he called at a baker’s, bought some 
cakes of bread, changed his money, and on his return gave the rest 
to his mother, who went and purchased provisions enough to last 
them some time. After this manner they lived, till Aladdin had 
sold the twelve dishes singly, as necessity pressed, to the Jew, for 
the same money; who, after the first time, durst not offer him less, 
for fear of losing so good a bargain. When he had sold the last 
dish, he had recourse to the tray, which weighed ten times as much 
as the dishes, and would have carried it to his old purchaser, but 
that it was too large and cumbersome; therefore he was obliged to 


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Types of Children s Literature 

bring him home with him to his mother’s, where, after the Jew had 
examined the weight of the tray, he laid down ten pieces of gold, 
with which Aladdin was very well satisfied. 

They lived on these ten pieces in a frugal manner, and Aladdin, 
though used to an idle life, had left off playing with young lads 
of his own age ever since his adventure with the African magician. 
He spent his time in walking about, and conversing with decent 
people, with whom he gradually got acquainted. Sometimes he 
would stop at the principal merchants’ shops, where people of 
distinction met, and listen to their discourse, by which he gained 
some little knowledge of the world. 

When all the money was spent, Aladdin had recourse again to 
the lamp. He took it in his hand, looked for the part where his 
mother had rubbed it with the sand, rubbed it also, when the genie 
immediately appeared, and said, “ What wouldst thou have? I am 
ready to obey thee as thy slave, and the slave of all those who have 
that lamp in their hands.” “ I am hungry,” said Aladdin, “ bring 
me something to eat.” The genie disappeared, and presently re- 
turned with a tray, the same number of covered dishes as before, 
set them down, and vanished. 

Aladdin’s mother, knowing what her son was going to do, went 
out about some business, on purpose to avoid being in the way 
when the genie came; and when she returned, was almost as much 
surprised as before at the prodigious effect of the lamp. However, 
she sat down with her son, and when they had eaten as much as 
they liked, she set enough by to last them two or three days. 

As soon as Aladdin found that their provisions were expended, 
he took one of the dishes, and went to look for his Jew chapman; 
but passing by a goldsmith’s shop, who had the character of a very 
fair and honest man, the goldsmith perceiving him, called to him, 
and said, “ My lad, I have often observed you go by, loaded as you 
are at present, and talk with such a Jew, and then come back again 
empty handed. I imagine that you carry something which you sell 
to him; but perhaps you do not know that he is the greatest rogue 
even among the Jews, and is so well known, that nobody of pru- 
dence will have anything to do with him. What I tell you is for your 
own good. If you will show me what you now carry, and it is to be 
sold, I will give you the full worth of it; or I will direct you to other 
merchants who will not cheat you.” 

The hopes of getting more money for his plate induced Aladdin 
to pull it from under his vest, and show it to the goldsmith, who at 


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The Oriental Wonder Story 

first sight saw that it was made of the finest silver, asked him if he 
had sold such as that to the Jew, when Aladdin told him that he had 
sold him twelve such, for a piece of gold each. “ What a villain! ” 
cried the goldsmith; “ but,” added he, “ my son, what is past cannot 
be recalled. By showing you the value of this plate, which is of the 
finest silver we use in our shops, I will let you see how much the 
Jew has cheated you.” 

The goldsmith took a pair of scales, weighed the dish, and after 
he had mentioned how much an ounce of fine silver cost, assured 
him that his plate would fetch by weight sixty pieces of gold, which 
he offered to pay down immediately. “ If you dispute my honesty,” 
said he, “you may go to any other of our trade, and if he gives 
you more, I will be bound to forfeit twice as much; for we gain 
only the fashion of the plate we buy, and that the fairest-dealing 
Jews are not contented with.” 

Aladdin thanked < him for his fair dealing, so greatly to his ad- 
vantage, took the gold, and never after went to any other person, 
but sold him all his dishes and the tray, and had as much for them 
as the weight came to. 

Though Aladdin and his mother had an inexhaustible treasure 
in their lamp, and might have had whatever they wished for, yet 
they lived with the same frugality as before, except that Aladdin 
dressed better; as for his mother, she wore no clothes but what she 
earned by spinning cotton. After their manner of living, it may 
be supposed, that the money for which Aladdin had sold the dishes 
and tray was sufficient to maintain them some time. 

During this interval, Aladdin frequented the shops of the prin- 
cipal merchants, where they sold cloth of gold and silver, linens, 
silk stuffs, and jewelry, and oftentimes joining in their conversation, 
acquired a knowledge of the world, and respectable demeanor. By 
his acquaintance among the jewelers, he came to know that the fruit 
which he had gathered when he took the lamp were, instead of 
colored glass, stones of inestimable value; but he had the prudence 
not to mention this to any one, not even to his mother. 

One day as Aladdin was walking about the town, he heard an 
order proclaimed, commanding the people to shut up their shops 
and houses, and keep within doors, while the princess Buddir al 
Buddoor, the sultan’s daughter, went to the baths and returned. 

This proclamation inspired Aladdin with eager curiosity to see 
the princess’s face, which he could not do without admission into the 
house of some acquaintance, and then only through a window; 


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Types of Children s Literature 

which did not satisfy him, when he considered that the princess when 
she went to the baths, would be closely veiled; but to gratify his 
curiosity, he presently thought of a scheme, which succeeded; it was 
to place himself behind the door of the bath, which was so situated 
that he could not fail of seeing her face. 

Aladdin had not waited long before the princess came, and he 
could see her plainly through a chink of the door without being 
discovered. She was attended by a great crowd of ladies, slaves, 
and eunuchs, who walked on each side, and behind her. When 
she came within three or four paces of the door of the baths, she 
took off her veil, and gave Aladdin an opportunity of a full 
view. 

As soon as Aladdin had seen the princess his heart could not 
withstand those inclinations so charming an object always inspires. 
The princess was the most beautiful brunette in the world; her eyes 
were large, lively, and sparkling; her looks sweet and modest; her 
nose was of a just proportion and without a fault, her mouth small, 
her lips of a vermilion red and charmingly agreeable symmetry; 
in a word, all the features of her face were perfectly regular. It 
is not therefore surprising that Aladdin, who had never before seen 
such a blaze of charms, was dazzled, and his senses ravished by such 
an assemblage. With all these perfections the princess had so 
fine a form, and so majestic an air, that the sight of her was 
sufficient to inspire love and admiration. 

After the princess had passed by, and entered the baths, Aladdin 
remained some time astonished, and in a kind of ecstasy, retracing 
and imprinting the idea of so charming an object deeply in his mind. 
But at last, considering that the princess was gone past him, and 
that when she returned from the bath her back would be towards 
him, and then veiled, he resolved to quit his hiding place and go 
home. He could not so far conceal his uneasiness but that his 
mother perceived it, was surprised to see him so much more thought- 
ful and melancholy than usual; and asked what had happened to 
make him so, or if he was ill. He returned her no answer, but sat 
carelessly down on the sofa, and remained silent, musing on the 
image of the charming Buddir al Buddoor. His mother, who was 
dressing supper, pressed him no more. When it was ready, she 
served it up, and perceiving that he gave no attention to it, urged 
him to eat, but had much ado to persuade him to change his place; 
which when he did, he ate much less than usual, all the time cast 
down his eyes, and observed so profound a silence, that she could not 


The Oriental Wonder Story 203 

obtain a word in answer to all the questions she put, in order to 
find the reason of so extraordinary an alteration. 

After supper, she asked him again why he was so melancholy, 
but could get no information, and he determined to go to bed rather 
than give her the least satisfaction. Without examining how he 
passed the night, his mind full as it was with the charms of the 
princess, I shall only observe that as he sat next day on the sofa, 
opposite his mother, as she was spinning cotton, he spoke to her 
in these words: “ I perceive, mother, that my silence yesterday has 
much troubled you; I was not, nor am I sick, as I fancy you be- 
lieved; but I assure you, that what I felt then, and now endure, is 
worse than any disease. I cannot explain what ails me; but doubt 
not what I am going to relate will inform you. 

“ It was not proclaimed in this quarter of the town, and there- 
fore you could know nothing of it, that the sultan’s daughter was 
yesterday to go to the baths. I heard this as I walked about the 
town, and an order was issued that all the shops should be shut 
up in her way thither, and everybody keep withindoors, to leave the 
streets free for her and her attendants. As I was not then far from 
the bath, I had a great curiosity to see the princess’s face; and as 
it occurred to me that the princess, when she came nigh the door of 
the bath, would pull her veil off, I resolved to conceal myself behind 
the door. You know the situation of the door, and may imagine 
that I must have had a full view of her. The princess threw off 
her veil, and I had the happiness of seeing her lovely face with the 
greatest security. This, mother, was the cause of my melancholy 
and silence yesterday; I love the princess with more violence than 
I can express; and as my passion increases every moment, I cannot 
live without the possession of the amiable Buddir al Buddoor, and 
am resolved to ask her in marriage of the sultan her father.” 

Aladdin’s mother listened with surprise to what her son told 
her; but when he talked of asking the princess in marriage, she 
could not help bursting out into a loud laugh. Aladdin would 
have gone on with his rhapsody, but she interrupted him: “Alas! 
child,” said she, “ what are you thinking of? you must be mad to 
talk thus.” 

“ I assure you, mother,” replied Aladdin, “ that I am not mad, 
but in my right senses; I foresaw that you would reproach me 
with folly and extravagance; but I must tell you once more, that I 
am resolved to demand the princess of the sultan in marriage, and 
your remonstrances shall not prevent me.” 


204 


Types of Childrens Literature 

“ Indeed, son,” replied the mother seriously, “ I cannot help tell- 
ing you, that you have forgotten yourself; and if you would put 
this resolution of yours in execution, I do not see whom you can 
prevail upon to venture to make the proposal for you.” “ You 
yourself,” replied he immediately. “ I go to the sultan ! ” answered 
the mother, amazed and surprised. “I shall be cautious how I 
engage in such an errand. Why, who are you, son,” continued 
she, “ that you can have the assurance to think of your sultan’s 
daughter? Have you forgotten that your father was one of the 
poorest tailors in the capital, and that I am of no better extraction; 
and do not you know that sultans never marry their daughters but 
to princes, sons of sovereigns like themselves? ” 

“ Mother,” answered Aladdin, “ I have already told you that I 
foresaw all that you have said, or can say: and tell you again, that 
neither your discourse nor your remonstrances shall make me change 
my mind. I have told you that you must ask the princess in mar- 
riage for me: it is a favor I desire of you, and I beg of you not 
to refuse, unless you would rather see me in my grave, than by 
your compliance give me new life.” 

The good old woman was much embarrassed, when she found 
Aladdin obstinately persisting in so wild a design. “ My son,” 
said she again, “ I am your mother, who brought you into the world, 
and there is nothing that is reasonable but I would readily do for 
you. If I were to go and treat about your marriage with some 
neighbor’s daughter, whose circumstances were equal with yours, 
I would do it with all my heart; and even then they would expect 
you should have some little estate or fortune, or be of some trade. 
When such poor folks as we are wish to marry, the first thing they 
ought to think of, is how to live. But without reflecting on the 
meanness of your birth, and the little merit and fortune you have to 
recommend you, you aim at the highest pitch of exaltation; and 
your pretensions are no less than to demand in marriage the daugh- 
ter of your sovereign, who with one single word can crush you to 
pieces. I say nothing of what respects yourself. I leave you to 
reflect on what you have to do, if you have ever so little thought. 
I come now to consider what concerns myself. How could so ex- 
traordinary a thought come into your head, as that I should go to 
the sultan and make a proposal to him to give his daughter in 
marriage to you? Suppose I had, not to say the boldness, but the 
impudence to present myself before the sultan, and make so extrava- 
gant a request, to whom should I address myself to be introduced 


205 


The Oriental Wonder Story 

to his Majesty? Do you not think the first person I should speak 
to would take me for a madwoman, and chastise me as I should 
deserve? Suppose, however, that there is no difficulty in presenting 
myself for an audience of the sultan, and I know there is none to 
those who go to petition for justice, which he distributes equally 
among his subjects; I know too that to those who ask a favor he 
grants it with pleasure when he sees it is deserved, and the persons 
are worthy of it. But is that your case? do you think you have 
merited the honor you would have me ask for you? are you worthy 
of it? What have you done to claim such a favor, either for your 
prince or country? How have you distinguished yourself? If 
you have done nothing to merit so high a distinction, nor are worthy 
of it, with what face shall I ask it? How can I open my mouth to 
make the proposal to the sultan? His majestic presence and the 
luster of his court would absolutely confound me, who used even 
to tremble before my late husband your father, when I asked him 
for anything. There is another reason, my son, which you do not 
think of, which is that nobody ever goes to ask a favor of the sultan 
without a present. But what presents have you to make? And 
if you had any that were worthy of the least attention of so great 
a monarch, what proportion could they bear to the favor you would 
ask? Therefore, reflect well on what you are about, and consider, 
that you aspire to an object which it is impossible for you to 
obtain.” 

Aladdin heard very calmly all that his mother could say to dis- 
suade him from his design, and after he had weighed her represen- 
tations in all points, replied: “I own, mother, it is great rashness 
in me to presume to carry my pretensions so far; and a great want 
of consideration to ask you with so much heat and precipitancy to 
go and make the proposal to the sultan, without first taking proper 
measures to procure a favorable reception, and therefore beg your 
pardon. But be not surprised that through the violence of my pas- 
sion I did not at first see every measure necessary to procure me the 
happiness I seek. I love the princess, or rather I adore her, and 
shall always persevere in my design of marrying her. I am obliged 
to you for the hint you have given me, and look upon it as the first 
step I ought to take to procure the happy issue I promise myself. 

“You say it is not customary to go to the sultan without a 
present, and that I have nothing worthy of his acceptance. As to 
the necessity of a present, I agree with you, and own that I never 
thought of it; but as to what you say that I have nothing fit to 


206 


Types of Children s Literature 

offer, do not you think, mother, that what I brought home with me 
the day on which I was delivered from an inevitable death, may be 
an acceptable present? I mean what you and I both took for col- 
ored glass: but now I am undeceived, and can tell you that they are 
jewels of inestimable value, and fit for the greatest monarch. I 
know the worth of them by frequenting the shops; and you may 
take my word that all the precious stones which I saw in the most 
capital jeweler’s possession were not to be compared to those we 
have, either for size or beauty, and yet they value theirs at an exces- 
sive price. In short, neither you nor I know the value of ours; 
but be it as it may, by the little experience I have, I am persuaded 
that they will be received very favorably by the sultan: you have a 
large porcelain dish fit to hold them; fetch it, and let us see how 
they will look, when we have arranged them according to their 
different colors.” 

Aladdin’s mother brought the china dish, when he took the jewels 
out of the two purses in which he had kept them, and placed them 
in order according to his fancy. But the brightness and luster they 
emitted in the daytime, and the variety of the colors, so dazzled the 
eyes both of mother and son, that they were astonished beyond 
measure; for they had only seen them by the light of a lamp; and 
though the latter had beheld them pendant on the trees like fruit 
beautiful to the eye, yet as he was then but a boy, he looked on 
them only as glittering playthings. 

After they had admired the beauty of the jewels some time, Alad- 
din said to his mother, “ Now you cannot excuse yourself from 
going to the sultan, under pretext of not having a present to make 
him, since here is one which will gain you a favorable reception.” 

Though the good widow, notwithstanding the beauty and luster 
of the precious stones, did not believe them so valuable as her son 
estimated them, she thought such a present might nevertheless be 
agreeable to the sultan, but still she hesitated at the request. “ My 
son,” said she, “ I cannot conceive that your present will have its 
desired effect, or that the sultan will look upon me with a favorable 
eye; I am sure, that if I attempt to deliver your strange message, 

I shall have no power to open my mouth; therefore I shall not only 
lose my labor, but the present, which you say is so invaluable, and 
shall return home again in confusion, to tell you that your hopes 
are frustrated. I have represented the consequence, and you ought 
to believe me; but,” added she, “I will exert my best endeavor 
to please you, and wish I may have power to ask the sultan as you 


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The Oriental Wonder Story 

would have me; but certainly he would either laugh at me, and send 
me back like a fool, or be in so great a rage as to make us both the 
victims of his fury.” 

She used many other arguments to endeavor to make him change 
his mind; but the charms of the princess had made too great an 
impression on his heart for him to be dissuaded from his design. 
He persisted in importuning his mother to execute his resolution, and 
she, as much out of tenderness as for fear he should be 'guilty of 
greater extravagance, complied with his request. 

As it was now late, and the time for admission to the palace was 
passed, it was put off till the next day. The mother and son talked 
of different matters the remaining part of the day; and Aladdin 
strove to encourage her in the task she had undertaken; while she, 
notwithstanding all his arguments, could not persuade herself she 
should succeed; and it must be confessed she had reason enough 
to doubt. “ Child,” said she to Aladdin, “ if the sultan should re- 
ceive me favorably, as I wish for your sake, should even hear my 
proposal with calmness, and after this scarcely-to-be-expected recep- 
tion should think of asking me where lie your riches and your estate 
(for he will sooner inquire after these than your person), if, I say, 
he should ask me these questions, what answer would you have me 
return him? ” 

“ Let us not be uneasy, mother,” replied Aladdin, “ about what 
may never happen. First, let us see how the sultan receives, and 
what answer he gives you. If it should so fall out, that he desires 
to be informed of what you mention, I have thought of an answer, 
and am confident that the lamp which hath supported us so long 
will not fail me in time of need.” 

The tailor’s widow could not say anything against what her 
son then proposed; but reflected that the lamp might be capable of 
doing greater wonders than just providing victuals for them. This 
consideration satisfied her, and at the same time removed all the 
difficulties which might have prevented her from undertaking the 
service she had promised her son with the sultan; Aladdin, who 
penetrated into his mother’s thoughts, said to her, “Above all 
things, mother, be sure to keep secret our possession of the lamp, for 
thereon depends the success we have to expect”; and after this 
caution, Aladdin and his mother parted to go to rest. But violent 
love, and the great prospect of so immense a fortune, had so much 
possessed the son’s thoughts, that he could not repose himself so 
well as he could have wished. He rose before daybreak, awakened 


208 


Types of Children s Literature 

his mother, pressing her to get herself dressed to go to the sultan’s 
palace, and to get admittance, if possible, before the grand vizier, 
the other viziers, and the great officers of state went in to take their 
seats in the divan, where the sultan always assisted in person. 

Aladdin’s mother took the china dish, in which they had put 
the jewels the day before, wrapped in two napkins, one finer than 
the other, which was tied at the four corners for more easy car- 
riage, and set forwards for the sultan’s palace. When she came to 
the gates, the grand vizier, the other viziers, and most distinguished 
lords of the court were just gone in; but, notwithstanding the crowd 
of people who had business was great, she got into the divan, a 
spacious hall, the entrance into which was very magnificent. She 
placed herself just before the sultan, grand vizier, and the great 
lords, who sat in council, on his right and left hand. Several causes 
were called, according to their order, pleaded and adjudged, until 
the time the divan generally broke up, when the sultan rising, re- 
turned to his apartment, attended by the grand vizier; the other 
viziers and ministers of state then retired, as also did all those whose 
business had called them thither; some pleased with gaining their 
causes, others dissatisfied at the sentences pronounced against them, 
and some in expectation of theirs being heard the next sitting. 

Aladdin’s mother, seeing the sultan retire, and all the people de- 
part, judged rightly that he would not sit again that day, and resolved 
to go home. When Aladdin saw her return with the present de- 
signed for the sultan, he knew not what to think of her success, and 
in his fear lest she should bring him some ill news, had not courage 
to ask her any questions; but she, who had never set foot into the 
sultan’s palace before, and knew not what was every day practiced 
there, freed him from his embarrassment, and said to him, with a 
great deal of simplicity, 44 Son, I have seen the sultan, and am 
very well persuaded he has seen me too; for I placed myself just 
before him; but he was so much taken up with those who attended 
on all sides of him, that I pitied him, and wondered at his patience. 
At last I believe he was heartily tired, for he rose up suddenly, and 
would not hear a great many who were ready prepared to speak 
to him, but went away, at which I was well pleased, for indeed I 
began to lose all patience, and was extremely fatigued with staying 
so long. But there is no harm done; I will go again tomorrow; 
perhaps the sultan may not be so busy.” 

Though his passion was very violent, Aladdin was forced to be 
satisfied with this delay, and to fortify himself with patience. He 


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The Oriental Wonder Story 

had at least the satisfaction to find that his mother had got over 
the greatest difficulty, which was to procure access to the sultan, and 
hoped that the example of those she saw speak to him would em- 
bolden her to acquit herself better of her commission when a favor- 
able opportunity might offer to speak to him. 

The next morning she repaired to the sultan’s palace with the 
present, as early as the day before, but when she came there, she 
found the gates of the divan shut, and understood that the council 
sat but every other day, therefore she must come again the next. 
This news she carried to her son, whose only relief was to guard 
himself with patience. She went six times afterwards on the days 
appointed, placed herself always directly before the sultan, but 
with as little success as the first morning, and might have perhaps 
come a thousand times to as little purpose, if luckily the sultan 
himself had not taken particular notice of her: for only those who 
came with petitions approached the sultan, when each pleaded their 
•cause in its turn, and Aladdin’s mother was not one of them. 

On the sixth day, however, after the divan was broken up, when 
the sultan returned to his own apartment, he said to his grand vizier, 
“ I have for some time observed a certain woman, who attends con- 
stantly every day that I give audience, with something wrapped up 
in a napkin: she always stands up from the beginning to the breaking 
up of the audience, and affects to place herself just before me. Do 
you know what she wants? ” 

“ Sir,” replied the grand vizier, who knew no more than the 
sultan what she wanted, but did not wish to seem uninformed, “ your 
Majesty knows that women often make complaints on trifles; perhaps 
she may come to complain to your Majesty, that somebody has 
sold her some bad flour, or some such trifling matter.” The sultan 
was not satisfied with this answer, but replied, “ If this woman 
comes to our next audience, do not fail to call her, that I may hear 
what she has to say.” The grand vizier made answer by lowering his 
hand, and then lifting it up above his head, signifying his willing- 
ness to lose it if he failed. 

By this time, the tailor’s widow was so much used to go to audi- 
ence, and stand before the sultan, that she did not think it any 
trouble, if she could but satisfy her son that she neglected nothing 
that lay in her power to please him: the next audience day she 
went to the divan, placed herself in front of the sultan as usual; 
and before the grand vizier had made his report of business, the 
sultan perceived her, and compassionating her for having waited 


210 


Type 9 of Children s Literature 

so long, said to the vizier, “Before you enter upon any business, 
remember the woman I spoke to you about; bid her come near, and 
let us hear and dispatch her business first.” The grand, vizier im- 
mediately called the chief of the mace-bearers who stood ready to 
obey his commands; and pointing to her, bade him go to that 
woman, and tell her to come before the sultan. 

The chief of the officers went to Aladdin’s mother, and at a sign 
he gave her, she followed him to the foot of the sultan’s throne, 
where he left her, and retired to his place by the grand vizier. 
The old woman, after the example of others whom she saw salute 
the sultan, bowed her head down to the carpet, which covered the 
platform of the throne, and remained in that posture till the sultan 
bade her rise, which she had no sooner done, than he said to her, 
44 Good woman, I have observed you to stand a long time, from 
the beginning to the rising of the divan; what business brings you 
here? ” 

After these words, Aladdin’s mother prostrated herself a second 
time; and when she arose, said, 44 Monarch of monarchs, before I 
tell your Majesty the extraordinary and almost incredible business 
which brings me before your high throne, I beg of you to pardon 
the boldness or rather impudence of the demand I am going to make, 
which is so uncommon, that I tremble, and am ashamed to propose 
it to my sovereign.” In order to give her the more freedom to ex- 
plain herself, the sultan ordered all to quit the divan but the grand 
vizier, and then told her she might speak without restraint. 

Aladdin’s mother, not content with this favor of the sultan’s to 
save her the trouble and confusion of speaking before so many 
people, was notwithstanding for securing herself against his anger, 
which, from the proposal she was going to make, she was not a 
little apprehensive of; therefore resuming her discourse, she said, 
44 1 beg of your Majesty, if you should think my demand the least 
injurious or offensive, to assure me first of your pardon and for- 
giveness.” 44 Well,” replied the sultan, 44 1 will forgive you, be it 
what it may, and no hurt shall come to you: speak boldly.” 

When Aladdin’s mother had taken all these precautions, for fear 
of the sultan’s anger, she told him faithfully how Aladdin had seen 
the princess Buddir al Buddoor, the violent love that fatal sight had 
inspired him with, the declaration he had made to her of it when 
he came home, and what representations she had made to dissuade 
him from a passion 44 no less disrespectful,” said she, 44 .to your 
Majesty, as sultan, than to the princess your daughter. But,” con- 


211 


The Oriental Wonder Story 

tinued she, “ my son, instead of taking my advice and reflecting on 
his presumption, was so obstinate as to persevere, and to threaten 
me with some desperate act, if 1 refused to come and ask the princess 
in marriage of your Majesty; and it was not without the greatest 
reluctance that I was led to accede to his request, for which I beg 
your Majesty once more to pardon not only me, but also Aladdin 
my son, for entertaining so rash a project as to aspire to so high 
an alliance.” 

The sultan hearkened to this discourse with mildness, and without 
showing the least anger; but before he gave her any answer, asked 
her what she had brought tied up in the napkin. She took the china 
dish, which she had set down at the foot of the throne, before she 
prostrated herself before him; untied it, and presented it to the 
sultan. 

The sultan’s amazement and surprise were inexpressible, when he 
saw so many large, beautiful, and valuable jewels collected in the 
dish. He remained for some time motionless with admiration. At 
last, when he had recovered himself, he received the present from 
Aladdin’s mother’s hand, crying out in a transport of joy, “ How 
rich, how beautiful! ” After he had admired and handled all the 
jewels, one after another, he turned to the grand vizier, and showing 
him the dish, said, “ Behold, admire, wonder, and confess that your 
eyes never beheld jewels so rich and beautiful before.” The vizier 
was charmed. “ Well,” continued the sultan, “ what sayst thou to 
such a present? Is it not worthy of the princess my daughter? 
And ought I not to bestow her on one who values her at so great 
price? ” 

These words put the grand vizier into extreme agitation. The 
sultan had some time before signified to him his intention of be- 
stowing the princess on a son of his; therefore he was afraid, and 
not without grounds, that the sultan, dazzled by so rich and extraor- 
dinary a present, might change his mind. Therefore going to him, 
and whispering him in the ear, he said, “ I cannot but own that 
the present is worthy of the princess; but I beg of your Majesty to 
grant me three months before you come to a final resolution. 1 
hope, before that time, my son, on whom you have had the goodness 
to look with a favorable eye, will be able to make a nobler present 
than Aladdin, who is an entire stranger to your Majesty.” 

The sultan, though he was fully persuaded that it was not possible 
for the vizier to provide so considerable a present for his son to 
make the princess, yet as he had given him hopes, hearkened to 


212 Types of Children s Literature 

him, and granted his request. Turning therefore to the old widow, 
he said to her, 44 Good woman, go home, and tell your son that I 
agree to the proposal you have made me; but I cannot marry the 
princess my daughter, till the paraphernalia I design for her be got 
ready, which cannot be finished these three months; but at the expira- 
tion of that time come again.” 

Aladdin’s mother returned home much more gratified than she 
had expected, since she had met with a favorable answer, instead 
of the refusal and confusion she had dreaded. From two circum- 
stances Aladdin, when he saw his mother returning, judged that 
she brought him good news: the one was, that she returned sooner 
than ordinary; and the other, the gayety of her countenance. 
44 Well, mother,” said he, 44 may I entertain any hopes, or must I 
die with despair? ” When she had pulled off her veil, and had 
seated herself on the sofa by him, she said to him, 44 Not to keep 
you long in suspense, son, I will begin by telling you, that instead 
of thinking of dying, you have every reason to be well satisfied.” 
Then pursuing her discourse, she told him, that she had an audience 
before everybody else, which made her come home so soon; the 
precautions she had taken lest she should have displeased the 
sultan, by making the proposal of marriage between him and the 
princess Buddir al Buddoor, and the condescending answer she had 
received from the sultan’s own mouth; and that as far as she could 
judge, the present had wrought a powerful effect. 44 But when I 
least expected it,” said she, 44 and he was going to give me an answer, 
and I fancied a favorable one, the grand vizier whispered him in the 
ear, and I was afraid might be some obstacle to his good intentions 
towards us, and so it happened, for the sultan desired me to come to 
audience again this day three months.” 

Aladdin thought himself the most happy of all men at hearing this 
news, and thanked his mother for the pains she had taken in the 
affair, the good success of which was of so great importance to his 
peace. Though from his impatience to obtain the object of his 
passion, three months seemed an age, yet he disposed himself to 
wait with patience, relying on the sultan’s word, which he looked 
upon to be irrevocable. But all that time he not only counted the 
hours, days, and weeks, but every moment. When two of the three 
months were past, his mother one evening going to light the laiyip, 
and finding no oil in the house, went out to buy some, and when 
she came into the city, found a general rejoicing. The shops, 
instead of being shut up, were open, dressed with foliage, silks, and 


The Oriental Wonder Story 213 

carpeting, every one striving to show their zeal in the most dis- 
tinguished manner according to his ability. The streets were 
crowded with officers in habits of ceremony, mounted on horses 
richly caparisoned, each attended by a great many footmen. Alad- 
din’s mother asked the oil merchant what was the meaning of all 
this preparation of public festivity. “Whence came you, good 
woman, said he, “ that you don’t know that the grand vizier’s son 
is to marry the princess Buddir al Buddoor, the sultan’s daughter, 
tonight? She will presently return from the baths; and these officers 
whom you see are to assist at the cavalcade to the palace, where the 
ceremony is to be solemnized.” This was news enough for Aladdin’s 
mother. She ran till she was quite out of breath home to her son, 
who little suspected any such event. “ Child,” cried she, “ you are 
undone! you depend upon the sultan’s fine promises, but they 
will come to nothing.” Aladdin was alarmed at these words. 
“ Mother,” replied he, “ how do you know the sultan has been guilty 
of a breach of promise?” “This night,” answered the mother, 
“ the grand vizier’s son is to marry the princess Buddir al Buddoor.” 
She then related how she had heard it; so that from all circum- 
stances, he had no reason to doubt the truth of what she said. 

At this account, Aladdin was thunderstruck. Any other man 
would have sunk under the shock; but a sudden hope of disap- 
pointing his rival soon roused his spirits, and he bethought himself 
of the lamp, which had on every emergency been so useful to him; 
and without venting his rage in empty words against the sultan, 
the vizier or his son, he only said, “ Perhaps, mother, the vizier’s 
son may not be so happy tonight as he promises himself: while I go 
into my chamber a moment, do you get supper ready.” She accord- 
ingly went about it, but guessed that her son was going to make use 
of the lamp, to prevent, if possible, the consummation of the mar- 
riage. 

When Aladdin had got into his chamber, he took the lamp, rubbed 
it in the same place as before, when immediately the genie ap- 
peared, and said to him, “ What wouldst thou have? I am ready to 
obey thee as thy slave, and the slave of all those who have that lamp 
in their possession; I and the other slaves of the lamp.” “Hear 
me,” said Aladdin ; “ thou hast hitherto brought me whatever I 
wanted as to provisions; but now I have business of the greatest 
importance for thee to execute. I have demanded the princess Bud- 
dir al Buddoor in marriage of the sultan her father; he promised her 
to me, only requiring three months’ delay; but instead of keeping 


214 


Types of Children s Literature 

that promise, has this night married her to the grand vizier’s son. 
What I ask of you is, that as soon as the bride and bridegroom are 
retired, you bring them both hither in their bed.” “ Master,” replied 
the genie, “ I will obey you. Have you any other commands? ” 
“None at present,” answered Aladdin; the genie then disap- 
peared. 

Aladdin having left his chamber, supped with his mother, with the 
same tranquillity of mind as usual; and after supper talked of the 
princess’s marriage as of an affair wherein he had not the least 
concern; he then retired to his own chamber again, and left his 
mother to go to bed; but sat up waiting the execution of his orders 
to the genie. 

In the meantime, everything was prepared with the greatest mag- 
nificence in the sultan’s palace to celebrate the princess’s nuptials; 
and the evening was spent with all the usual ceremonies and great 
rejoicings till midnight, when the grand vizier’s son, on a signal given 
him by the chief of the princess’s eunuchs, slipped away from the 
company, and was introduced by that officer into the princess’s 
apartment. In a little time after, the sultaness, accompanied by her 
own women, and those of the princess, brought the bride. 

No sooner was the door shut, than the genie, as the faithful slave 
of the lamp, and punctual in executing the command of those who 
possessed it, to the great amazement of them both, took up the bed, 
and transported it in an instant into Aladdin’s chamber, where he 
set it down. 

Aladdin, who had waited impatiently for this moment, did not 
suffer the vizier’s son to remain long in bed with the princess. 
“ Take this new-married man,” said he to the genie, “ shut him up 
in a room, and come again tomorrow morning before daybreak.” 
The genie instantly forced the vizier’s son out of bed, carried him 
whither Aladdin had commanded him; and after he had breathed 
upon him, which prevented his stirring, left him there. 

Aladdin did not talk much to the princess when they were alone, 
but only said with a respectful air, “ Fear nothing, adorable princess, 
you are here in safety; for, notwithstanding the violence of my 
passion, which your charms have kindled, it shall never exceed the 
bounds of the profound adoration I owe you. If I have been forced 
to come to this extremity, it is not with any intention of affronting 
you, but to prevent an unjust rival’s possessing you, contrary to 
the sultan your father’s promise in favor of myself.” 

The princess, who knew nothing of these particulars, gave very 


215 


The Oriental Wo?ider Story 

little attention to what. Aladdin could say. The fright and amaze- 
ment of so surprising and unexpected an adventure had alarmed 
her so much that he could not get one word from her. Aladdin, 
satisfied with having thus deprived his rival of the happiness he 
had flattered himself with, went outside the room, where he slept 
very soundly, though the princess Buddir al Buddoor never passed 
a night so ill in her life; and if we consider the condition in which 
the genie left the grand vizier’s son, we may imagine that the new 
bridegroom spent it much worse. 

Aladdin had no occasion the next morning to rub the lamp to call 
the genie; who appeared at the hour appointed, just when he had 
done dressing himself, and said to him, “ I am here, master, what 
are your commands? ” “ Go,” said Aladdin, “ fetch the vizier’s son 

out of the place where you left him, put him into his bed again, 
and carry it to the sultan’s palace, from whence you brought it.” 
The genie presently returned with the vizier’s son. The bridegroom 
was laid by the princess, and in an instant the nuptial bed was trans- 
ported into the same chamber of the palace from whence it had 
been brought. But we must observe, that all this time the genie 
never was visible either to the princess or the grand vizier’s son. 
His hideous form would have made them die with fear. Neither 
did they hear anything of the discourse between Aladdin and him; 
they only perceived the motion of the bed, and their transportation 
from one place to another; which we may well imagine was enough 
to alarm them. 

As soon as the genie had set down the nuptial bed in its proper 
place, the sultan tapped at the door to wish her good morning. 
The grand vizier’s son, who was almost perished with cold, by 
standing in his thin under garment all night, and had not had time 
to warm himself in bed, had no sooner heard the knocking at the 
door than he got out of bed, and ran into the robing chamber, 
where he had undressed himself the night before. 

The sultan having opened the door, went to the bedside, kissed 
the princess between the eyes, according to custom, wishing her a 
good morrow, but was extremely surprised to see her so melancholy. 
She only cast at him a sorrowful look, expressive of great affliction 
or great dissatisfaction. He said a few words to her, but finding that 
he could not get a word from her, he retired. Nevertheless, he 
suspected that there was something extraordinary in this silence, and 
thereupon went immediately to the sultaness’s apartment, told her 
in what a state he had found the princess, and how she had re- 


216 Types of Children s Literature 

ceived him. “Sir,” said the sultaness, “I will go and see her; 
I am much deceived if she receives me in the same manner.” 

As soon as the sultaness was dressed, she went to the princess’s 
apartment, who was still in bed. She undrew the curtain, wished 
her good morrow, and kissed her. But how great was her sur- 
prise when she returned no answer; and looking more attentively 
at her, she perceived her to be much dejected, which made her judge 
that something had happened, which she did not understand. “ How 
comes it, child,” said the sultaness, “ that you do not return my 
caresses? Ought you to treat your mother after this manner? I 
am induced to believe something extraordinary has happened ; come, 
tell me freely, and leave me no longer in a painful suspense.” 

At last the princess broke silence with a deep sigh and said, “ Alas ! 
most honored mother, forgive me if I have failed in the respect 
I owe you. My mind is so full of the extraordinary circumstances 
which have befallen me this night, that I have not yet recovered from 
my amazement and alarm.” She then told her, how the instant after 
she and her husband were together, the bed was transported into a 
dark, dirty room, where he was taken from her and carried away, 
but where she knew not; and that she was left alone with a young 
man, who said something to her, which her fright did not suffer her 
to hear; and in the morning her husband was brought to her again, 
when the bed was transported back to her own chamber in an instant. 
“ All this,” said she, “ was but just done, when the sultan my father 
came into my chamber. I was so overwhelmed with grief, that I 
had not power to speak, and am afraid that he is offended at the 
manner in which I received the honor he did me; but I hope he will 
forgive me, when he knows my melancholy adventure, and the mis- 
erable state I am in at present.” 

The sultaness heard all the princess told her very patiently, but 
would not believe it. “You did well, child,” said she, “not to 
speak of this to your father: take care not to mention it to anybody; 
for you will certainly be thought mad if you talk in this manner.” 
“ Madam,” replied the princess, “ I can assure you I am in my right 
senses; ask my husband, and he will tell you the same circum- 
stances.” “I will,” said the sultaness; “but if he should talk in 
the same manner, I shall not be better persuaded of the truth. Come, 
rise, and throw off this idle fancy; it will be a strange event, if all 
the feasts and rejoicings in the kingdom should be interrupted by 
such a vision. Do not you hear the trumpets of congratulation, 
and concerts of the finest music? Cannot these inspire you with 


The Oriental Wonder Story 217 

joy and pleasure, and make you forget the fancies of an imagina- 
tion disturbed by what can have been only a dream? ” At the 
same time the sultaness called the princess’s women, and after she 
had seen her get up, and begin dressing, went to the sultan’s 
apaitment, told nim that her daughter had got some odd notions in 
her, but that there was nothing in them but idle fantasy. 

She then sent for the vizier’s son, to know of him something of 
what the princess had told her; but he, thinking himself highly 
honored to be allied to the sultan, and not willing to lose the 
princess, denied what had happened. “ That is enough,” answered 
the sultaness, “ I ask no more. I see you are wiser than my daugh- 
ter.” 

The rejoicings lasted all that day in the palace, and the sultaness, 
who never left the princess, forgot nothing to divert her, and induce 
her to take part in the various diversions and shows; but she was 
so struck with the idea of what had happened to her in the night, 
that it was easy to see her thoughts were entirely taken up with it. 
Neither was the grand vizier’s son in less tribulation, though his 
ambition made him disguise his feelings so well, that nobody doubted 
of his being a happy bridegroom. 

Aladdin, who was well acquainted with what passed in the palace, 
was sure the new-married couple were to lie together again, not- 
withstanding the troublesome adventure of the night before; and 
therefore, having as great an inclination to disturb them, had recourse 
to his lamp, and when the genie appeared, and offered his service, 
he said to him, “ The grand vizier’s son and the princess Buddir al 
Buddoor are to lie together again tonight: go, and as soon as they 
are in bed, bring the bed hither, as thou didst yesterday.” 

The genie obeyed as faithfully and exactly as the day before, 
and the grand vizier’s son passed the night as coldly and disagree- 
ably. The genie, according to orders, came the next morning, 
brought the bridegroom, laid him by his bride, and then carried 
the bed and new-married couple back again to the palace. 

The sultan, after the reception the princess had given him, was 
very anxious to know how she passed the second night, and there- 
fore went into her chamber as early as the morning before. The 
grand vizier’s son, more ashamed, and mortified with the ill success 
of this last night, no sooner heard him coming, than he jumped 
out of bed, and ran hastily into the robing-chamber. The sultan 
went to the princess’s bedside, and after the same caresses he had 
given her the former morning, bade her good morrow. “ Well, 


218 


Types of Childrens Literature 

daughter,” said he, “are you in better humor than yesterday?” 
Still the princess was silent, and the sultan perceiving her to be more 
troubled, and in greater confusion than before, doubted not that 
something very extraordinary was the cause; but provoked that his 
daughter should conceal it, he said to her in a rage, with his saber 
in his hand, “ Daughter, tell me what is the matter, or I will cut off 
your head immediately.” 

The princess, more frightened at the menaces and tone of the 
enraged sultan than at the sight of the drawn saber, at last broke 
silence, and said with tears in her eyes, “ My dear father and sultan, 
I ask your Majesty’s pardon if I have offended you, and hope, that 
out of your goodness and clemency you will have compassion on me, 
when I shall have told you in what a miserable condition I have 
spent this last night, as well as the preceding.” 

After this preamble, which appeased and affected the sultan, she 
told him what had happened to her, in so moving a manner, that 
he, who loved her tenderly, was most sensibly grieved. She added, 
“ If your Majesty doubts the truth of this account, you may inform 
yourself from my husband, who, I am persuaded, will tell you 
the same thing.” 

The sultan immediately felt all the extreme uneasiness so sur- 
prising an adventure must have given the princess. “ Daughter,” 
said he, “ you are much to blame for not telling me this yesterday, 
since it concerns me as much as yourself. I did not marry you 
with an intention to make you miserable, but that you might enjoy 
all the happiness you deserve and might hope for from a husband, 
who to me seemed agreeable to you. Efface all these troublesome 
ideas from your memory; I will take care that you shall have no 
more such disagreeable and insupportable nights.” 

As soon as the sultan had returned to his own apartments, he 
sent for the grand vizier: “Vizier,” said he, “have you seen your 
son, and has he told you anything? ” The vizier replied, “No.” 
The sultan related all the circumstances of which the princess had 
informed him, and afterwards said, “ I do not doubt but that my 
daughter has told me the truth; but nevertheless I should be glad 
to have it confirmed by your son, therefore go and ask him how it 
was.” 

The grand vizier went immediately to his son, communicated 
what the sultan had told him, and enjoined him to conceal nothing, 
but to relate the whole truth. “ I will disguise nothing from you, 
father,” replied the son, “ for indeed all that the princess has stated 


219 


The Oriental Wonder Story 

is true; but what relates particularly to myself she knows nothing of. 
Since my marriage, I have passed two nights beyond imagination 
or expression disagreeable, not to mention the fright I was in at 
finding my bed lifted four times, transported from one place to 
another, without being able to guess how it was done. You may 
judge of the miserable condition I was in, passing two whole nights 
in nothing but my under vestments, standing in a small room, unable 
to stir out of the place or to make the least movement, though I 
could not perceive any obstacle to prevent me. Yet I must tell you, 
that all this ill usage does not in the least lessen those sentiments 
of love, respect, and gratitude I entertain for the princess, and of 
which she is so deserving; but I must confess, that notwithstanding 
all the honor and' splendor that attends marrying my sovereign’s 
daughter, I would much rather die, than continue in so exalted an 
alliance if I must undergo nightly much longer what I have already 
endured. I do not doubt but that the princess entertains the same 
sentiments, and that she will readily agree to a separation, which is 
so necessary both for her repose and mine. Therefore, father, I beg, 
by the same tenderness which led you to procure me so great an 
honor, to obtain the sultan’s consent that our marriage may be 
declared null and void.” 

Notwithstanding the grand vizier’s ambition to have his son allied 
to the sultan, the firm resolution he saw he had formed to be sep- 
arated from the princess made him not think it proper to propose 
to him to have patience for a few days, to see if this disappointment 
would not have an end; but he left him to give an account of what 
he had related to him, and without waiting till the sultan himself, 
whom he found disposed to it, spoke of setting aside the marriage, 
he begged of him to give his son leave to retire from the palace, 
alleging it was not just that the princess should be a moment longer 
exposed to so terrible a persecution upon his son’s account. 

The grand vizier found no great difficulty to obtain what he asked, 
as the sultan had determined already; orders were given to put a stop 
to all rejoicing in the palace and town, and expresses dispatched 
to all parts of his dominions to countermand them; and, in a short 
time, all rejoicings ceased. 

This sudden and unexpected change gave rise both in the city 
and kingdom to various speculations and inquiries; but no other 
account could be given of it, except that both the vizier and his son 
went out of the palace very much dejected. Nobody but Aladdin 
knew the secret. He rejoiced within himself at the happy success 


220 


Types of Childrens Literature 

procured by his lamp, which now he had no more occasion to rub, to 
produce the genie to prevent the consummation of the marriage, 
as he had certain information it was broken off, and that his rival 
had left the palace. Neither the sultan nor the grand vizier, who 
had forgotten Aladdin and his request, had the least thought that 
he had any concern in the enchantment which caused the dissolu- 
tiohxjf the marriage. 

Aldddin waited till the three months were completed, which the 
sultan had appointed for the consummation of the marriage between 
the princess Buddir al Buddoor and himself; and the next day sent 
his mother to the palace, to remind the sultan of his promise. 

Aladdin’s mother went to the palace, and stood in the same place 
as before in the hall of audience. The sultan ho sooner cast his 
eyes upon her than he knew her again, remembered her business, 
and how long he had put her off : therefore when the grand vizier was 
beginning to make his report, the sultan interrupted him and said, 
“ Vizier, I see the good woman who made me the present of jewels 
some months ago; forbear your report, till I have heard what she 
has to say.” The vizier looking about the divan, perceived the 
tailor’s widow, and sent the chief of the mace-bearers to conduct her 
to the sultan. 

Aladdin’s mother came to the foot of the throne, prostrated her- 
self as usual, and when she rose, the sultan asked her what she 
would have. “ Sir,” said she, “ I come to represent to your Majesty, 
in the name of my son Aladdin, that the three months, at the end of 
which you ordered me to come again, are expired; and to beg you to 
remember your promise.” 

The sultan, when he had fixed a time to answer the request of 
this good woman, little thought of hearing any more of a mar- 
riage, which he imagined must be very disagreeable to the princess, 
when he considered the meanness and poverty of her dress and 
appearance; but this summons for him to fulfill his promise was 
somewhat embarrassing; he declined giving an answer till he had 
consulted his vizier, and signified to him the little inclination he 
had to conclude a match for his daughter with a stranger, whose 
rank he supposed to be very mean. 

The grand vizier freely told the sultan his thoughts, and said to 
him, 44 In my opinion, sir, there is an infallible way for your 
Majesty to avoid a match so disproportionable, without giving Alad- 
din, were he known to your Majesty, any cause of complaint; which 
is, to set so high a price upon the princess, that, however rich he may 


221 


The Oriental Wonder Story 

be, he cannot comply with. This is the only evasion to make him 
desist from so bold, not to say rash, an undertaking, which he never 
weighed before he engaged in it.” 

The sultan, approving of the grand vizier’s advice, turned to the 
tailor s widow, and said to her, “ Good woman, it is true sultans 
ought to abide by their word, and I am ready to keep mine, by 
making your son happy in marriage with the princess, my daughter. 
But as I cannot marry her without some further valuable considera- 
tion from your son, you may tell him, I will fulfill my promise as 
soon as he shall send me forty trays of massy gold, full of the same 
sort of jewels you have already made me a present of, and carried 
by the like number of black slaves, who shall be led by as many 
young and handsome white slaves, all dressed magnificently. On 
these conditions I am ready to bestow the princess my daughter upon 
him; therefore, good woman, go and tell him so, and I will wait 
till you bring me his answer.” 

Aladdin’s mother prostrated herself a second time before the 
sultan’s throne and retired. On her way home, she laughed within 
herself at her son’s foolish imagination. “ Where,” says she, “ can 
he get so many large gold trays, and such precious stones to fill 
them? Must he go again to that subterraneous abode, the entrance 
into which is stopped up, and gather them off the trees? But where 
will he get so many such slaves as the sultan requires? It is alto- 
gether out of his power, and I believe he will not be much pleased 
with my embassy this time.” When she came home, full of these 
thoughts, she said to her son, “ Indeed, child, I would not have you 
think any farther of your marriage with the princess. The sultan 
received me very kindly, and I believe he was well inclined to you; 
but if I am not much deceived the grand vizier has made him 
change his mind, as you will guess from what I have to tell you. 
After I had represented to his Majesty, that the three months were 
expired, and begged of him to remember his promise, I observed 
that he whispered with his grand vizier before he gave me his 
answer.” She then gave her son an exact account of what the 
sultan had said to her, and the conditions on which he consented 
to the match. Afterwards she said to him, “ The sultan expects your 
answer immediately; but,” continued she, laughing, “ I believe he 
may wait long enough.” 

“Not so long, mother, as you imagine,” replied Aladdin; “the 
sultan is mistaken, if he thinks by this exorbitant demand to prevent 
my entertaining thoughts of the princess. I expected greater diffi- 


222 


Types of Children s Literature 

culties, and that he would have set a higher price upon her incom- 
parable charms. I am very well pleased; his demand is but a trifle 
to what I could have done for her. But while I think of satisfying 
his request, go and get something for our dinner, and leave the rest 
to me.” 

As soon as his mother was gone out to market, Aladdin took 
the lamp, and rubbing it, the genie appeared, and offered his ‘service 
as usual. “ The sultan,” said Aladdin to him, “ gives me the 
princess his daughter in marriage; but demands first forty large 
trays of massy gold, full of the fruits of the garden from whence I 
took this lamp; and these he expects to have carried by as many 
black slaves, each preceded by a young, handsome white slave, 
richly clothed. Go, and fetch me this present as soon as possible, 
that I may send it to him before the divan breaks up.” The genie 
told him his command should be immediately obeyed, and disap- 
peared. 

In a little time afterwards the genie returned with forty black 
slaves, each bearing on his head a heavy tray of pure gold, full of 
pearls, diamonds, rubies, emeralds, and every sort of precious stones, 
all larger and more beautiful than those presented to the sultan. 
Each tray was covered with silver tissue, embroidered with flowers 
of gold: these, together with the white slaves, quite filled the house, 
which was but a small one, the little court before it, and a small 
garden behind. The genie asked if he had any other commands, 
and Aladdin telling him that he wanted nothing farther, he disap- 
peared. 

When Aladdin’s mother came from market, she was much sur- 
prised to see so many people and such vast riches. As soon as she 
had laid down her provisions, she was going to pull off her veil; 
but he prevented her, and said, “ Mother, let us lose no time ; before 
the sultan and the divan rise, I would have you return to the palace 
with this present as the dowry demanded for the princess, that he 
may judge by my diligence and exactness of the ardent and sincere 
desire I have to procure myself the honor of this alliance.” With- 
out waiting for his mother’s reply, Aladdin opened the street door, 
and made the slaves walk out; each white slave followed by a black 
with a tray upon his head. When they were all out, the mother fol- 
lowed the last black slave, he shut the door, and then retired to his 
chamber, full of hopes that the sultan, after this present, which 
was such as he required, would receive him as his son-in-law. 

The first white slave who went out made all the people who were 


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The Oriental Wonder Story 

going by stop; and before they were all clear of the house, the 
streets were crowded with spectators, who ran to see so extraordinary 
and magnificent a procession. The dress of each slave was so rich, 
both for the stuff and the jewels, that those who were dealers in them 
valued each at no less than a million of money; besides the neatness 
and propriety of the dress, the noble air, fine shape and proportion 
of each slave were unparalleled; their grave walk at an equal dis- 
tance from each other, the luster of the jewels curiously set in their 
girdles of gold, in beautiful symmetry, and ihe egrets of precious 
stones in their turbans, which were of an unusual but elegant taste, 
put the spectators into such great admiration, that they could not 
avoid gazing at them, and following them with their eyes as far as 
possible; but the streets were so crowded with people, that none 
could move out of the spot they stood on. As they had to pass 
through several streets to the palace, a great part of the city had an 
opportunity of seeing them. As soon as the first of these slaves 
arrived at the palace gate, the porters formed themselves into order, 
taking him for a prince from the richness and magnificence of his 
habit, and were going to kiss the hem of his garment; but the slave, 
who was instructed by the genie, prevented them, and said, “ We are 
only slaves, our master will appear at a proper time.” 

The first slave, followed by the rest, advanced into the second 
court, which was very spacious, and in which the sultan’s household 
was ranged during the sitting of the divan. The magnificence of 
the officers, who stood at the head of their troops, was considerably 
eclipsed by the slaves who bore Aladdin’s present, of which they 
themselves made a part. Nothing was ever seen so beautiful and 
brilliant in the sultan’s palace; and all the luster of the lords of his 
court was not to be compared to them. 

As the sultan, who had been informed of their march and ap- 
proach to the palace, had given orders for them to be admitted, they 
met with no obstacle, but went into the divan in regular order, one 
part filing to the right, and the other to the left. After they entered, 
and had formed a semicircle before the sultan’s throne, the black 
slaves laid the golden trays on the carpet, prostrated themselves, 
touching the carpet with their foreheads, and at the same time the 
white slaves did the same. When they rose, the black slaves uncov- 
ered the trays, and then all stood with their arms crossed over their 
breasts. 

In the meantime Aladdin’s mother advanced to the foot of the 
throne, and having paid her respects, said to the sultan, “Sir, 


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Types of Children s Literature 

my son is sensible this present, which he has sent your Majesty, is 
much below the princess Buddir al Buddoor’s worth; but hopes, 
nevertheless, that your Majesty will accept of it and make it agree- 
able to the princess, and with the greater confidence since he has 
endeavored to conform to the conditions you were pleased to im- 
pose.” 

The sultan was not able to give the least attention to this com- 
pliment. The moment he cast his eyes on the forty trays, full of 
the most precious, brilliant, and beautiful jewels he had ever seen, 
and the fourscore slaves, who appeared by the elegance of their per- 
sons, and the richness and magnificence of their dress, like so many 
princes, he was so struck, that he could not recover from his admira- 
tion. Instead of answering the compliment of Aladdin’s mother, he 
addressed himself to the grand vizier, who could not any more than 
the sultan comprehend from whence such a profusion of richness 
could come. “ Well, vizier,” said he aloud, “ who do you think it 
can be that has sent me so extraordinary a present, and neither of 
us know? Do you think him worthy of the princess Buddir al 
Buddoor, my daughter? ” 

The vizier, notwithstanding his envy and grief to see a stranger 
preferred to be the sultan’s son-in-law before his son, durst not 
disguise his sentiments. It was too visible that Aladdin’s present 
was more than sufficient to merit his being received into royal 
alliance; therefore, consulting his master’s feelings, he returned this 
answer: “I am so far from having any thoughts that the person 
who has made your Majesty so noble a present is unworthy of the 
honor you would do him, that I should say he deserved much more, 
if I was not persuaded that the greatest treasure in the world ought 
not to be put in competition with the princess your Majesty’s 
daughter.” This speech was applauded by all the lords who were 
then in council. 

The sultan made no longer hesitation, nor thought of informing 
himself whether Aladdin was endowed with all the qualifications 
requisite in one who aspired to be his son-in-law. The sight alone 
of such immense riches, and Aladdin’s quickness in satisfying his 
demand, without starting the least difficulty at the exorbitant condi- 
tions he had imposed, easily persuaded him, that he could want 
nothing to render him accomplished, and such as he desired. 
Therefore, to send Aladdin’s mother back with all the satisfaction 
she could desire, he said to her, “ My good lady, go and tell your 
son, that I wait with open arms to embrace him, and the more haste 


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The Oriental Wonder Story 

he makes to come and receive the princess my daughter from my 
hands, the greater pleasure he will do me.” 

As soon as the tailor’s widow had retired, overjoyed as a woman 
in her condition must have been, to see her son raised beyond all 
expectations to such exalted fortune, the sultan put an end to the 
audience; and rising from his throne, ordered that the princess’s 
eunuchs should come and carry the trays into their mistress’s apart- 
ments, whither he went himself to examine them with her at his 
leisure. The fourscore slaves were conducted into the palace; 
and the sultan, telling the princess of their magnificent appearance, 
ordered them to be brought before her apartment, that she might see 
through the lattices he had not exaggerated in his account of them. 

In the meantime Aladdin’s mother got home, and showed in her 
air and countenance the good news she brought her son. “ My son,” 
said she to him, “ you have now all the reason in the world to be 
pleased: you are, contrary to my expectations, arrived at the height 
of your desires. Not to keep you too long in suspense, the sultan, 
with the approbation of the whole court, has declared that you are 
worthy to possess the princess Buddir al Buddoor, and waits to 
embrace you and conclude your marriage; therefore, you must 
think of making some preparations for your interview, which may 
answer the high opinion he has formed of your person; and after 
the wonders I have seen you do, I am persuaded nothing can be 
wanting. But I must not forget to tell you, the sultan waits for 
you with great impatience; therefore lose no time in paying your 
respects.” 

Aladdin, enraptured with this news, and full of the object which 
possessed his soul, made his mother very little reply, but retired 
to his chamber. There, after he had rubbed his lamp, which had 
never failed him in whatever he wished for, the obedient genie 
appeared. 44 Genie,” said Aladdin, 44 1 want to bathe immediately, 
and you must afterwards provide me the richest and most magnifi- 
cent habit ever worn by a monarch.” No sooner were the words 
out of his mouth than the genie rendered him, as well as himself, 
invisible, and transported him into a hummum of the finest marble 
of all sorts of colors; where he was undressed, without seeing by 
whom, in a magnificent and spacious hall. From the hall he was 
led to the bath, which was of a moderate heat, and he was there 
rubbed and washed with various scented waters. After he had 
passed through several degrees of heat, he came out, quite a different 
man from what he was before. His skin was clear white and red, 


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Types of Children s Literature 

his body lightsome and free; and when he returned into the hall, 
he found, instead of his own, a suit, the magnificence of which 
astonished him. The genie helped him to dress, and when he had 
done, transported him back to his own chamber, where he asked him 
if he had any other commands. “ Yes,” answered Aladdin, “ I ex- 
pect you to bring me as soon as possible a charger, that surpasses 
in beauty and goodness the best in the sultan’s stables, with a saddle, 
bridle, and other caparisons worth a million of money. I want also 
twenty slaves, as richly clothed as those who carried the present to 
the sultan, to walk by my side and follow me, and twenty more to 
go before me in two ranks. Besides these, bring my mother six 
women slaves to attend her, as richly dressed at least as any of the 
princess Buddir al Buddoor’s, each carrying a complete dress fit for 
any sultaness. I want also ten thousand pieces of gold in ten 
purses; go and make haste.” 

As soon as Aladdin had given these orders, the genie disappeared, 
but presently returned with the horse, the forty slaves, ten of whom 
carried each a purse containing ten thousand pieces of gold, and six 
women slaves, each carrying on her head a different dress for Alad- 
din’s mother, wrapped up in a piece of silver tissue, and presented 
them all to Aladdin. 

Of the ten purses Aladdin took four, which he gave to his mother, 
telling her, those were to supply her with necessaries; the other six 
he left in the hands of the slaves who brought them, with an order 
to throw them by handfuls among the people as they went to the 
sultan’s palace. The six slaves who carried the purses he ordered 
likewise to march before him, three on the right hand and three on 
the left. Afterwards he presented the six women slaves to his 
mother, telling her they were her slaves, and that the dresses they 
had brought were for her use. 

When Aladdin had thus settled matters, he told the genie he 
would call for him when he wanted him, and thereupon the genie 
disappeared. Aladdin’s thoughts now were only upon answering, 
as soon as possible, the desire the sultan had shown to see him. 
He dispatched one of the forty slaves to the palace, with an order 
to address himself to the chief of the porters, to know when he 
might have the honor to come and throw himself at the sultan’s 
feet. The slave soon acquitted himself of his commission, and 
brought for answer, that the sultan waited for him with impatience. 

Aladdin immediately mounted his charger, and began his march, 
in the order we have already described; and though he never was 


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The Oriental Wonder Story 

on horseback before, appeared with such extraordinary grace, that 
the most experienced horseman would not have taken him for a 
novice. The streets through which he was to pass were almost 
instantly filled with an innumerable concourse of people, who made 
the air echo with their acclamations, especially every time the six 
slaves who carried the purses threw handfuls of gold among the 
populace. Neither did these acclamations and shouts of joy come 
from those alone who scrambled for the money, but from a superior 
rank of people, who could not forbear applauding Aladdin’s gen- 
erosity. Not only those who knew him when he played in the 
streets like a vagabond did not recollect him, but those who saw 
him but a little while before hardly recognized him, so much were 
his features altered: such were the effects of the lamp, as to procure 
by degrees to those who possessed it perfections suitable to the rank 
to which the right use of it advanced them. Much more attention 
was paid to Aladdin’s person than to the pomp and magnificence of 
his attendants, as a similar show had been seen the day before when 
the slaves walked in procession with the present to the sultan. 
Nevertheless the horse was much admired by good judges, who knew 
how to discern his beauties, without being dazzled by the jewels 
and richness of the furniture. When the report was everywhere 
spread, that the sultan was going to give the princess in marriage to 
Aladdin, nobody regarded his birth, nor envied his good fortune, 
so worthy he seemed of it in the public opinion. 

When he arrived at the palace, everything was prepared for his 
reception; and when he came to the gate of the second court, he 
would have alighted from his horse, agreeably to the custom ob- 
served by the grand vizier, the commander in chief of the empire, 
and governors of provinces of the first rank; but the chief of the 
mace-bearers who waited on him by the sultan’s order prevented 
him, and attended him to the grand hall of audience where he helped 
him to dismount; though Aladdin endeavored to prevent him, but 
could not prevail. The officers formed themselves into two ranks 
at the entrance of the hall. The chief put Aladdin on his right 
nand, and through the midst of them led him to the sultan’s throne. 

As soon as the sultan perceived Aladdin, he was no less surprised 
to see him more richly and magnificently habited than ever he had 
been himself, than struck at his good mien, fine shape, and a certain 
air of unexpected dignity, very different from the meanness of his 
mother’s late appearance. 

But, notwithstanding, his amazements and surprise did not hinder 


228 


Types of Childrens Literature 

him from rising off his throne, and descending two or three steps, 
quick enough to prevent Aladdin’s throwing himself at his feet. 
He embraced him with all the demonstrations of joy at his arrival. 
After this civility Aladdin would have thrown himself at his feet 
again; but he held him fast by the hand, and obliged him to sit 
close to the throne. 

Aladdin then addressed the sultan, saying, “ I receive the honor 
which your Majesty out of your great condescension is pleased 
to confer; but permit me to assure you, that I have not forgotten that 
I am your slave; that I know the greatness of your power, and 
that I am not insensible how much my birth is below the splendor 
and luster of the high rank to which I am raised. If any way,” 
continued he, “ I could have merited so favorable a reception, I 
confess I owe it merely to the boldness which chance inspired in 
me to raise my eyes, thoughts, and desires to the divine princess, 
who is the object of my wishes. I ask your Majesty’s pardon for 
my rashness, but I cannot dissemble, that I should die with grief 
were I to lose my hopes of seeing them accomplished.” 

“ My son,” answered the sultan, embracing him a second time, 
“ you would wrong me to doubt for a moment of my sincerity : your 
life from this moment is too dear to me not to preserve it, by 
presenting you with the remedy which is at my disposal. I prefer 
the pleasure of seeing and hearing you before all your treasure added 
to my own.” 

After these words, the sultan gave a signal, and immediately the 
air echoed with the sound of trumpets, hautboys, and other musical 
instruments: and at the same time the sultan led Aladdin into a 
magnificent hall, where was laid out a most splendid collation. 
The sultan and Aladdin ate by themselves, while the grand vizier 
and the great lords of the court, according to their dignity and 
rank, sat at different tables. The conversation turned on different 
subjects; but all the while the sultan took so much pleasure in 
looking at his intended son-in-law, that he hardly ever took his 
eyes off him; and throughout the whole of their conversation 
Aladdin showed so much good sense, as confirmed the sultan in the 
high opinion he had formed of him. 

After the feast, the sultan sent for the chief judge of his capital, 
and ordered him to draw up immediately a contract of marriage 
between the princess Buddir al Buddoor his daughter and Alad- 
din. In the meantime the sultan and he entered into another con- 
versation on various subjects, in the presence of the grand vizier and 


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The Oriental Wonder Story 

the lords of the court, who all admired the solidity of his wit, the 
great ease and freedom wherewith he delivered himself, the justness 
of his remarks, and his energy in expressing them. 

When the judge had drawn up the contract in all the requisite 
forms, the sultan asked Aladdin if he would stay in the palace, and 
solemnize the ceremonies of marriage that day. To which he an- 
swered, “ Sir, though great is my impatience to enjoy your Majesty’s 
goodness, yet I beg of you to give me leave to defer it till I have built 
a palace fit to receive the princess; therefore I petition you to grant 
me a convenient spot of ground near your palace, that I may the 
more frequently pay my respects, and I will take care to have it 
finished with all diligence.” “ Son,” said the sultan, “ take what 
ground you think proper, there is space enough on every quarter 
round my palace; but consider, I cannot see you too soon united 
with my daughter, which alone is wanting to complete my happi- 
ness.” After these words he embraced Aladdin again, who took his 
leave with as much politeness as if he had been bred up and had 
always lived at court. 

Aladdin returned home in the order he had come, amidst the accla- 
mations of the people, who wished him all happiness and prosperity. 
As soon as he dismounted, he retired to his own chamber, took the 
lamp, and called the genie as before, who in the usual manner 
made him a tender of his service. “ Genie,” said Aladdin, “ I 
have every reason to commend your exactness in executing hitherto 
punctually whatever I have demanded; but now if you have any 
regard for the lamp your protector, you must show, if possible, 
more zeal and diligence than ever. I would have you build me, 
as soon as you can, a palace opposite, but at a proper distance 
from the sultan’s, fit to receive my spouse the princess Buddir al 
Buddoor. I leave the choice of the materials to you, that is to say, 
porphyry, jasper, agate, lapis lazuli, or the finest marble of various 
colors, and also the architecture of the building. But I expect that 
on the terraced roof of this palace you will build me a large hall 
crowned with a dome, and having four equal fronts; and that instead 
of layers of bricks, the walls be formed of massy gold and silver, 
laid alternately; that each front shall contain six windows, the lat- 
tices of all of which, except one, which must be left unfinished, shall 
be so enriched in the most tasteful workmanship, with diamonds, 
rubies, and emeralds, that they shall exceed everything of the kind 
ever seen in the world. I would have an inner and outer court in 
front of the palace, and a spacious garden; but above all things, take 


230 


Types of Childrens Literature 

care that there be laid in a place which you shall point out to me a 
treasure of gold and silver coin. Besides, the edifice must be well 
provided with kitchens and offices, storehouses, and rooms to keep 
choice furniture in, for every season of the year. I must have 
stables full of the finest horses, with their equerries and grooms, 
and hunting equipage. There must be officers to attend the kitchens 
and offices, and women slaves to wait on the princess. You under- 
stand what I mean; therefore go about it, and come and tell me 
when all is finished.” 

By the time Aladdin had instructed the genie respecting the 
building of his palace, the sun was set. The next morning, before 
break of day, our bridegroom, whose love for the princess would 
not let him sleep, was up, when the genie presented himself, and 
said, “ Sir, your palace is finished, come and see how you like it.” 
Aladdin had no sooner signified his consent, than the genie trans- 
ported him thither in an instant, and he found it so much beyond 
his expectation, that he could not enough admire it. The genie led 
him through all the apartments, where he met with nothing but 
what was rich and magnificent, with officers and slaves, all habited 
according to their rank and the services to which they were ap- 
pointed. The genie then showed him the treasury, which was 
opened by a treasurer, where Aladdin saw heaps of purses, of differ- 
ent sizes, piled up to the top of the ceiling, and disposed in most 
excellent order. The genie assured him of the treasurer’s fidelity, 
and thence led him to the stables, where he showed him some of 
the finest horses in the world, and the grooms busy in dressing 
them; from thence they went to the storehouses, which were filled 
with all things necessary, both for food and ornament. 

When Aladdin had examined the palace from top to bottom, and 
particularly the hall with the four-and-twenty windows, and found 
it much beyond whatever he could have imagined, he said, 44 Genie, 
no one can be better satisfied than I am; and indeed I should be 
much to blame if I found any fault. There is only one thing want- 
ing which I forgot to mention; that is, to lay from the sultan’s 
palace to the door of the apartment designed for the princess, a 
carpet of fine velvet for her to walk upon.” The genie immediately 
disappeared, and Aladdin saw what he desired executed in an instant. 
The genie then returned, and carried him home before the gates of 
the sultan’s palace were opened. 

When the porters, who had always been used to an open prospect, 
came to open the gates, they were amazed to find it obstructed, and 


231 


The Oriental Wonder Story 

to see a carpet of velvet spread from the grand entrance. They did 
not immediately look how far it extended; but when they could dis- 
cern Aladdin s palace distinctly, their surprise was increased. 
The news of so extraordinary a wonder was presently spread through 
the palace. The grand vizier, who arrived soon after the gates were 
open, being no less amazed than others at this novelty, ran and 
acquainted the sultan, but endeavored to make him believe it to be 
all enchantment. “ Vizier,” replied the sultan, “ why will you have 
it to be enchantment? You know as well as I that it must be Alad- 
din s palace, which I gave him leave to build, for the reception of 
my daughter. After the proof we have had of his riches, can we 
think it strange, that he should raise a palace in so short a time? 
He wished to surprise us, and let us see what wonders are to be done 
with money in only one night. Confess sincerely that the enchant- 
ment you talk of proceeds from a little envy on account of your son’s 
disappointment.” The hour of going to council put an end to the 
conversation. 

When Aladdin had been conveyed home, and had dismissed the 
genie, he found his mother up, and dressing herself in one of those 
suits which had been brought her. By the time the sultan rose from 
the council, Aladdin had prepared his mother to go to the palace 
with her slaves, and desired her, if she saw the sultan, to tell him 
she should do herself the honor to attend the princess towards even- 
ing to her palace. Accordingly she went; but though she and the 
women slaves who followed her were all dressed like sultanesses, 
yet the crowd was not near so great as the preceding day, because 
they were all veiled, and had each an upper garment on agreeable 
to the richness and magnificence of their habits. Aladdin mounted 
his horse, and took leave of his paternal house forever, taking care 
not to forget his wonderful lamp, by the assistance of which he had 
reaped such advantages, and arrived at the utmost height of his 
wishes, and went to the palace in the same pomp as the day before. 

As soon as the porters of the sultan’s palace saw Aladdin’s mother, 
they went and informed the sultan, who immediately ordered the 
bands of trumpets, cymbals, drums, fifes and hautboys, placed in 
different parts of the palace, to play, so that the air resounded with 
concerts which inspired the whole city with joy: the merchants began 
to adorn their shops and houses with fine carpets and silks, and to 
prepare illuminations against night. The artisans of every descrip- 
tion left their work, and the populace repaired to the great space 
between the royal palace and that of Aladdin; which last drew all 


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Types of Childrens Literature 

their attention, not only because it was new to them, but because 
there was no comparison between the two buildings. But their 
amazement was to comprehend by what unheard-of miracle so mag- 
nificent a palace could have been so soon erected, it being apparent 
to all that there were no prepared materials, or any foundations laid 
the day before. 

Aladdin’s mother was received in the palace with honor, and 
introduced into the princess Buddir al Buddoor’s apartment by the 
chief of the eunuchs. As soon as the princess saw her, she rose, 
saluted, and desired her to sit down on a sofa; and while her women 
finished dressing, and adorning her with the jewels which Aladdin 
had presented to her, a collation was served up. At the same time 
the sultan, who wished to be as much with his daughter as possible 
before he parted with her, came in and paid the old lady great 
respect. Aladdin’s mother had talked to the sultan in public, but he 
had never seen her with her veil off, as she was then; and though 
she was somewhat advanced in years, she had the remains of a good 
face, which showed what she had been in her youth. The sultan, 
who had always seen her dressed very meanly, not to say poorly, 
was surprised to find her as richly and magnificently attired as the 
princess his daughter. This made him think Aladdin equally pru- 
dent and wise in whatever he undertook. 

When it was night, the princess took her leave of the sultan her 
father: their adieus were tender, and accompanied with tears. They 
embraced each other several times, and at last the princess left her 
own apartment for Aladdin’s palace, with his mother on her left 
hand carried in a superb litter, followed by a hundred women slaves, 
dressed with surprising magnificence. All the bands of music, 
which had played from the time Aladdin’s mother arrived, being 
joined together, led the procession, followed by a hundred state 
ushers, and the like number of black eunuchs, in two files, with 
their officers at their head. Four hundred of the sultan’s young 
pages carried flambeaux on each side, which, together with the 
illuminations of the sultan’s and Aladdin’s palaces, made it as 
light as day. 

In this order the princess proceeded in her litter on the carpet, 
which was spread from the sultan’s palace, preceded by bands of 
musicians, who, as they advanced, joining with those on the terraces 
of Aladdin’s palace, formed a concert, which increased the joyful 
sensations not only of the crowd assembled in the great square, but 
of the metropolis and its environs. 


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The Oriental Wonder Story 

At length the princess arrived at the new palace. Aladdin ran 
with all imaginable joy to receive her at the grand entrance. His 
mother had taken care to point him out to the princess, in the midst 
of the officers who surrounded him, and she was charmed with his 
person. “ Adorable princess,” said Aladdin, accosting her, and sa- 
luting her respectfully, as soon as she had entered her apartment, 
“ if I have the misfortune to have displeased you by my boldness in 
aspiring to the possession of so lovely a princess, and my sultan’s 
daughter, I must tell you, that you ought to blame your bright eyes 
and charms, not me.” 44 Prince (as I may now call you),” answered 
the princess, 44 1 am obedient to the will of my father; and it is 
enough for me to have seen you, to tell you that I obey without 
reluctance.” 

Aladdin, charmed with so agreeable and satisfactory an answer, 
would not keep the princess standing; but took her by the hand, 
which he kissed with the greatest demonstration of joy, and led her 
into a large hall, illuminated with an infinite number of wax candles, 
where, by the care of the genie, a noble feast was served up. The 
dishes were of massy gold, and contained the most delicate viands. 
The vases, basins, and goblets were gold also, and of exquisite work- 
manship, and all the other ornaments and embellishments of the 
hall were answerable to this display. The princess, dazzled to see 
so much riches collected in one place, said to Aladdin, 44 1 thought, 
prince, that nothing in the world was so beautiful as the sultan my 
father’s palace, but the sight of this hall alone is sufficient to show 
I was deceived.” 

Aladdin led the princess to the place appointed for her, and as 
soon as she and his mother were seated, a band of the most har- 
monious instruments, accompanied with the voices of beautiful 
ladies, began a concert, which lasted without intermission to the 
end of the repast. The princess was so charmed, that she declared 
she had never heard anything like it in the sultan her father’s court; 
but she knew not that these musicians were fairies chosen by the 
genie, the slave of the lamp. 

When the supper was ended, there entered a company of female 
dancers, who performed, according to the custom of the country, 
several figure dances, singing at the same time verses in praise of 
the bride and bridegroom. About midnight Aladdin’s mother con- 
ducted the bride to the nuptial apartment, and he soon after retired. 

The next morning when Aladdin left the bridal chamber, his at- 
tendants presented themselves to dress him, and brought him another 


234 Types of Childrens Literature 

habit as rich and magnificent as that worn the day before. He then 
ordered one of the horses appointed for his use to be got ready, 
mounted him, and went in the midst of a large troop of slaves to the 
sultan’s palace. The sultan received him with the same honor as 
before, embraced him, placed him on the throne near him, and 
ordered a collation. Aladdin said, “ I beg your Majesty will dis- 
pense with my eating with you today; I came to entreat you to take 
a repast in the princess’s palace, attended by your grand vizier, and 
all the lords .of your court.” The sultan consented with pleasure, 
rose up immediately, and, preceded by the principal officers of his 
palace, and followed by all the great lords of his court, accompanied 
Aladdin. 

The nearer the sultan approached Aladdin’s palace, the more he 
was struck with its beauty, but was much more amazed when he en- 
tered it; and could not forbear breaking out into exclamations of 
approbation. But when he came into the hall, and cast his eyes on 
the windows, enriched with diamonds, rubies, emeralds, all large 
perfect stones, he was so much surprised, that he remained some 
time motionless. After he recovered himself, he said to his vizier, 
“ Is it possible that there should be such a stately palace so near 
my own, and I be an utter stranger to it till now? ” “Sir,” re- 
plied the grand vizier, “ your Majesty may remember that the day 
before yesterday you gave Aladdin, whom you accepted for your 
son-in-law, leave to build a palace opposite your own, and that very 
day at sunset there was no palace on this spot, but yesterday I had 
the honor first to tell you that the palace was built and finished.” 
“ I remember,” replied the sultan, “ but never imagined that the 
palace was one of the wonders of the world; for where in all the 
world besides shall we find walls built of massy gold and silver, 
instead of brick, stone, or marble; and diamonds, rubies, and emer- 
alds composing the windows! ” 

The sultan would examine and admire the beauty of all the win- 
dows, and counting them, found that there were but three and 
twenty so richly adorned, and he was greatly astonished that the 
twenty-fourth was left imperfect. “Vizier,” said he, for that min- 
ister made a point of never leaving him, “ I am surprised that a 
hall of this magnificence should be left thus imperfect.” “Sir,” 
replied the grand vizier, “ without doubt Aladdin only wanted time 
to finish this window like the rest; for it is not to be supposed but 
that he has sufficient jewels for the purpose, or that he will not 
complete it at the first opportunity.” 


235 


The Oriental Wonder Story 

Aladdin, who had left the sultan to go and give some orders, 
returned just as the vizier had finished his remark. “Son,” said 
the sultan to him, “this hall is the most worthy of admiration of 
any in the world; there is only one thing that surprises me, which 
is to find one of the windows unfinished. Is it from the forgetful- 
ness or negligence of the workmen, or want of time, that they have 
not put the finishing stroke to so beautiful a piece of architecture? ” 
“ Sir,” answered Aladdin, “ it was for none of these reasons that 
your Majesty sees it in this state. The omission was by design; it 
was by my orders that the workmen left it thus, since I wished that 
your Majesty should have the glory of finishing this hall, and of 
course the palace.” “ If you did it with this intention,” replied 
the sultan, “ I take it kindly and will give orders about it imme- 
diately.” He accordingly sent for the most considerable jewelers 
and goldsmiths in his capital. 

Aladdin then conducted the sultan into the saloon where he had 
regaled his bride the preceding night. The princess entered imme- 
diately afterwards, and received the sultan her father with an air 
that showed how much she was satisfied with her marriage. Two 
tables were immediately spread with the most delicious meats, all 
served up in gold dishes. The sultan, princess, Aladdin, his mother, 
and the grand vizier sat down at the first, and all the lords of the 
court at the second, which was very long. The sultan was much 
pleased with the cookery, and owned he had never eaten anything 
more excellent. He said the same of the wines, which were delicious; 
but what he most of all admired, were four large beaufets, profusely 
furnished with large flagons, basins, and cups, all of massy gold, 
set with jewels. He was besides charmed with several bands of 
music, which were ranged along the hall, and formed most agreeable 
concerts. 

When the sultan rose from the table, he was informed that the 
jewelers and goldsmiths attended; upon which he returned to the 
hall, and showed them the window which was unfinished: “I 
sent for you,” said he, “ to fit up this window in as great perfection 
as the rest; examine them well, and make all the dispatch you can.” 

The jewelers and goldsmiths examined the three and twenty win- 
dows with great attention, and after they had consulted together 
to know what each could furnish, they returned, and presented them- 
selves before the sultan, whose principal jeweler, undertaking to 
speak for the rest, said, “ Sir, we are all willing to exert our utmost 
care and industry to obey your Majesty; but among us all we cannot 


236 


Types of Childrens Literature 

furnish jewels enough for so great a work.” “ I have more than 
are necessary,” said the sultan; “come to my palace, and you shall 
choose what may answer your purpose.” 

When the sultan returned to his palace, he ordered his jewels to be 
brought out, and the jewelers took a great quantity, particularly 
those Aladdin had made him a present of, which they soon used, 
without making any great advance in their work. They came again 
several times for more, and in a month’s time had not finished half 
their work. In short, they used all the jewels the sultan had, and 
borrowed of the vizier, but yet the work was not half done. 

Aladdin, who knew that all the sultan’s endeavors to make this 
window like the rest were in vain, sent for the jewelers and gold- 
smiths, and not only commanded them to desist from their work, 
but ordered them to undo what they had begun, and to carry all their 
jewels back to the sultan and to the vizier. They undid in a few 
hours what they had been six weeks about, and retired, leaving 
Aladdin alone in the hall. He took the lamp which he carried about 
him, rubbed it, and presently the genie appeared. “ Genie,” said 
Aladdin, “ I ordered thee to leave one of the four and twenty win- 
dows of this hall imperfect, and thou hast executed my commands 
punctually; now I would have thee make it like the rest.” The 
genie immediately disappeared. Aladdin went out of the hall, and 
returning soon after, found the window, as he wished it to be, like 
the others. 

In the meantime, the jewelers and goldsmiths repaired to the 
palace, and were introduced into the sultan’s presence; where the 
chief jeweler, presenting the precious stones which he had brought 
back, said, in the name of all the rest, “ Your Majesty knows how 
long we have been upon the work you were pleased to set us about, 
in which we used all imaginable industry. It was far advanced, 
when prince Aladdin commanded us not only to leave off, but to 
undo what we had already begun, and bring your Majesty your 
jewels back.” The sultan asked them if Aladdin had given them 
any reason for so doing, and they answering that he had given 
them none, he ordered a horse to be brought, which he mounted, and 
rode to his son-in-law’s palace, with some few attendants on foot. 
When he came there, he alighted at the staircase, which led up to the 
hall with the twenty-four windows, and went directly up to it, with- 
out giving previous notice to Aladdin; but it happened that at that 
very juncture Aladdin was opportunely there, and had just time to 
receive him at the door. 


237 


The Oriental Wonder Story 

The sultan, without giving Aladdin time to complain obligingly 
of his not having given notice, that he might have acquitted himself 
with the more becoming respect, said to him, “ Son, I come myself 
to know the reason why you commanded the jewelers to desist from 
work, and take to pieces what they had done.” 

Aladdin disguised the true reason, which was, that the sultan was 
not rich enough in jewels to be at so great an expense, but said, 
“ I beg of you now to see if anything is wanting.” 

The sultan went directly to the window which was left imperfect, 
and when he found it like the rest, fancied that he was mistaken, 
examined the two windows on each side, and afterwards all the 
four and twenty; but when he was convinced that the window which 
several workmen had been so long about was finished in so short a 
time, he embraced Aladdin, and kissed him between his eyes. “ My 
son,” said he, “ what a man you are to do such surprising things 
always in the twinkling of an eye: there is not your fellow in the 
world; the more I know, the more I admire you.” 

Aladdin received these praises from the sultan with modesty, 
and replied in these words — “ Sir, it is a great honor to me to 
deserve your Majesty’s good-will and approbation, and I assure you, 
I shall study to deserve them more.” 

The sultan returned to his palace, but would not let Aladdin 
attend him. When he came there, he found his grand vizier waiting, 
to whom he related the wonder he had witnessed, with the utmost 
admiration, and in such terms as left the minister no room to doubt 
but that the fact was as the sultan related it; though he was the 
more confirmed in his belief, that Aladdin’s palace was the effect 
of enchantment, as he had told the sultan the first moment he saw 
it. He was going to repeat the observation, but the sultan inter- 
rupted him and said, 44 You told me so once before; I see, vizier, 
you have not forgotten your son’s espousals to my daughter.” The 
grand vizier plainly saw how much the sultan was prepossessed, 
therefore avoided disputes, and let him remain in his own opinion. 
The sultan as soon as he rose every morning went into the closet 
to look at Aladdin’s palace, and would go many times in a day to 
contemplate and admire it. 

Aladdin did not confine himself in his palace; but took care to 
show himself once or twice a week in the town, by going sometimes 
to one mosque, and sometimes to another, to prayers, or to visit the 
grand vizier, who affected to pay his court to him on certain days, or 
to do the principal lords of the court the honor to return their visits 


238 


Types of Childrens Literature 

after he had regaled them at his palace. Every time he went out, he 
caused two slaves, who walked by the side of his horse, to throw 
handfuls of money among the people as he passed through the streets 
and squares, which were generally on those occasions crowded. 
Besides, no one came to his palace gates to ask alms but returned 
satisfied with his liberality. In short, he so divided his time, that 
not a week passed but he went either once or twice a-hunting, some- 
times in the environs of the city, sometimes farther off; at which time 
the villages through which he passed felt the effects of his gener- 
osity, which gained him the love and blessings of the people: and it 
was common for them to swear by his head. Thus, without giving 
the least umbrage to the sultan, to whom he paid all imaginable re- 
spect, Aladdin, by his affable behavior and liberality, had won the 
affections of the people, and was more beloved than the sultan him- 
self. With all these good qualities he showed a courage and a zeal 
for the public good which could not be sufficiently applauded. He 
gave sufficient proofs of both in a revolt on the borders of the king- 
dom; for he no sooner understood that the sultan was levying an 
army to disperse the rebels than he begged the command of it, which 
he found not difficult to obtain. As soon as he was empowered, he 
marched with so much expedition, that the sultan heard of the defeat 
of the rebels before he had received an account of his arrival in the 
army. And though this action rendered his name famous through- 
out the kingdom, it made no alteration in his disposition; but he was 
as affable after his victory as before. 

Aladdin had conducted himself in this manner several years, 
when the African magician, who undesignedly had been the instru- 
ment of raising him to so high a pitch of prosperity, recalled him to 
his recollection in Africa, whither, after his expedition, he had re- 
turned. And though he was almost persuaded that Aladdin must 
have died miserably in the subterraneous abode where he had left 
him, yet he had the curiosity to inform himself about his end with 
certainty; and as he was a great geomancer, he took out of a cup- 
board a square covered box, which he used in his geomantic obser- 
vations: then sat himself down on his sofa, set it before him, and 
uncovered it. After he had prepared and leveled the sand which was 
in it, with an intention to discover whether or no Aladdin had died in 
the subterraneous abode, he cast the points, drew the figures, and 
formed a horoscope, by which, when he came to examine it, he 
found that Aladdin, instead of dying in the cave, had made his 
escape, lived splendidly, was in possession of the wonderful lamp, 
had married a princess, and was much honored and respected.' 


239 


The Oriental Wonder Story 

The magician no sooner understood by the rules of his diabolical 
art, that Aladdin had arrived to this height of good fortune, than his 
face became inflamed with anger, and he cried out in a rage, “ This 
sorry tailor’s son has discovered the secret and virtue of the lamp! 
I believed his death to be certain, but find that he enjoys the fruit of 
my labor and study! I will, however, prevent his enjoying it long, 
or perish in the attempt.” He was not a great while deliberating on 
what he should do, but the next morning mounted a barb, set for- 
wards, and never stopped but to refresh himself and horse, till he 
arrived at the capital of China. He alighted, took up his lodging in 
a khan, and stayed there the remainder of the day and the night, to 
refresh himself after so long a journey. 

The next day, his first object was to inquire what people said of 
Aladdin; and, taking a walk through the town, he went to the most 
public and frequented places, where persons of the best distinction 
met to drink a certain warm liquor, which he had drunk often during 
his former visit. As soon as he had seated himself, he was presented 
with a cup of it, which he took; but listening at the same time to the 
discourse of the company on each side of him, he heard them talking 
of Aladdin’s palace. When he had drunk off his liquor, he joined 
them, and taking this opportunity, inquired particularly of what pal- 
ace they spoke with so much commendation. “ From whence come 
you? ” said the person to whom he addressed himself; “you must 
certainly be a stranger not to have seen or heard of prince Aladdin’s 
palace (for he was called so after his marriage with the princess). 
I do not say,” continued the man, “ that it is one of the wonders of 
the world, but that it is the only wonder of the world; since nothing 
so grand, rich, and magnificent was ever beheld. Certainly you must 
have come from a great distance, or some obscure corner, not to have 
heard of it, for it must have been talked of all over the world. Go 
and see it, and then judge whether I have told you more than the 
truth.” “ Forgive my ignorance,” replied the African magician; “ I 
arrived here but yesterday, and came from the farthest part of Africa, 
where the fame of this palace had not reached when I came away. 
The business which brought me hither was so urgent, that my sole 
object was to arrive as soon as I could, without stopping anywhere, 
or making any acquaintance. But I will not fail to go and see it; 
my impatience is so great, I will go immediately and satisfy my 
curiosity, if you will do me a favor to show me the way thither.” 

The person to whom the African magician addressed himself took 
a pleasure in showing him the way to Aladdin’s palace, and he got 


240 Types of Childrens Literature 

up and went thither instantly. When he came to the palace, and had 
examined it on all sides, he doubted not but Aladdin had made use 
of the lamp to build it. Without attending to the inability of a poor 
tailor’s son, he knew that none but the genii, the slaves of the lamp, 
the attaining of which he had missed, could have performed such 
wonders; and piqued to the quick at Aladdin’s happiness and splen- 
dor, he returned to the khan where he lodged. 

The next point was to ascertain where the lamp was; whether 
Aladdin carried it about with him, or where he kept it; and this he 
was to discover by an operation of geomancy. As soon as he entered 
his lodging, he took his square box of sand, which he always carried 
with him when he traveled, and after he had performed some opera- 
tions, he found that the lamp was in Aladdin’s palace, and so great 
was his joy at the discovery that he could hardly contain himself. 
“ Well,” said he, “ I shall have the lamp, and I defy Aladdin’s pre- 
venting my carrying it off, and making him sink to his original 
meanness, from which he has taken so high a flight.” 

It was Aladdin’s misfortune at that time to be absent in the chase 
for eight days, and only three were expired, which the magician came 
to know by this means. After he had performed the magical opera- 
tion, which gave him so much joy, he went to the superintendent of 
the khan, entered into conversation with him on indifferent subjects, 
and among the rest, told him he had been to see Aladdin’s palace; 
and after exaggerating on all that he had seen most worthy of obser- 
vation, added, 44 But my curiosity leads me farther, and I shall not be 
satisfied till I have seen the person to whom this wonderful edifice 
belongs.” 44 That will be no difficult matter,” replied the master of 
the khan ; 44 there is not a day passes but he gives an opportunity 
when he is in town, but at present he is not at the palace, and 
has been gone these three days on a hunting-match, which will last 
eight.” 

The magician wanted to know no more; he took his leave of the 
superintendent of the khan, and returning to his own chamber, said 
to himself, 44 This is an opportunity I ought by no means to neglect, 
but must make the best use of it.” To that end, he went to a copper- 
smith, and asked for a dozen copper lamps: the master of the shop 
told him he had not so many by him, but if he would have patience 
till the next day, he would have them ready. The magician ap- 
pointed his time, and desired him to take care that they should be 
handsome and well polished. After promising to pay him well, he 
returned to his inn. 


241 


The Oriental Wonder Story 

The next day the magician called for the twelve lamps, paid the 
man his full price, put them into a basket which he bought on pur- 
pose, and with the basket hanging on his arm, went directly to 
Aladdin’s palace; as he approached he began crying, “Who will 
change old lamps for new ones? ” As he went along, a crowd of 
children collected, who hooted, and thought him, as did all who 
chanced to be passing by, a madman or a fool, to offer to change new 
lamps for old ones. 

The African magician regarded not their scoffs, hootings, or all 
they could say to him, but still continued crying, “ Who will change 
old lamps for new? ” He repeated this so often, walking back- 
wards and forwards in front of the palace, that the princess, who 
was then in the hall with the four-and-twenty windows, hearing a man 
cry something, and not being able to distinguish his words, owing to 
the hooting of the children and increasing mob about him, sent one 
of her women slaves to know what he cried. 

The slave was not long before she returned, and ran into the hall, 
laughing so heartily, that the princess could not forbear herself. 
“ Well, giggler,” said the princess, “ will you tell me what you laugh 
at? ” “ Madam,” answered the slave, laughing still, “ who can for- 

bear laughing, to see a fool with a basket on his arm, full of fine 
new lamps, ask to change them for old ones; the children and mob, 
crowding about him so that he can hardly stir, make all the noise 
they can in derision of him.” 

Another female slave hearing this said, “ Now you speak of lamps, 
I know not whether the princess may have observed it, but there is an 
old one upon a shelf of the prince’s robing-room, and whoever owns 
it will not be sorry to find a new one in its stead. If the princess 
chooses, she may have the pleasure of trying if this fool is so silly 
as to give a new lamp for an old one, without taking anything for the 
exchange.” 

The lamp this slave spoke of was the wonderful lamp, which Alad- 
din had laid upon the shelf before he departed for the chase: this he 
had done several times before; but neither the princess, the slaves, 
nor the eunuchs had ever taken notice of it. At all other times ex- 
cept when hunting he carried it about his person. 

The princess, who knew not the value of this lamp, and the interest 
that Aladdin, not to mention herself, had to keep it safe, entered into 
the pleasantry, and commanded a eunuch to take it, and make the 
exchange. The eunuch obeyed, went out of the hall, and no sooner 
got to the palace gates than he saw the African magician, called to 


242 Types of Childrens Literature 

him, and showing him the old lamp, said, 44 Give me a new lamp 
for this.” 

The magician never doubted but this was the lamp he wanted. 
There could be no other such in this palace, where every utensil was 
gold or silver. He snatched it eagerly out of the eunuch’s hand, and 
thrusting it as far as he could into his breast, offered him his basket, 
and bade him choose which he liked best. The eunuch picked out 
one, and carried it to the princess; but the exchange was no sooner 
made than the place rang with the shouts of the children, deriding 
the magician’s folly. 

The African magician gave everybody leave to laugh as much as 
they pleased; he stayed not long near the palace, but made the best 
of his way, without crying any longer, 44 New lamps for old ones.” 
His end was answered, and by his silence he got rid of the children 
and the mob. 

As soon as he was out of the square between the two palaces, he 
hastened down the streets which were the least frequented; and hav- 
ing no more occasion for his lamps or basket, set all down in an alley 
where nobody saw him: then going down another street or two, he 
walked till he came to one of the city gates, and pursuing his way 
through the suburbs, which were very extensive, at length reached a 
lonely spot, where he stopped for a time to execute the design he 
had in contemplation, never caring for his horse which he had left at 
the khan ; but thinking himself perfectly compensated by the treasure 
he had acquired. 

In this place the African magician passed the remainder of the 
day, till the darkest time of night, when he pulled the lamp out of 
his breast and rubbed it. At that summons the genie appeared, and 
said, 44 What wouldst thou have? I am ready to obey thee as thy 
slave, and the slave of all those who have that lamp in their hands; 
both I and the other slaves of the lamp.” 44 1 command thee,” re- 
plied the magician, 44 to transport me immediately and the palace 
which thou and the other slaves of the lamp have built in this city, 
with all the people in it, to Africa.” The genie made no reply, but 
with the assistance of the other genii, the slaves of the lamp imme- 
diately transported him and the palace entire, to the spot whither he 
was desired to convey it. 

As soon as the sultan rose the next morning, according to custom 
he went into his closet, to have the pleasure of contemplating and 
admiring Aladdin’s palace; but when he first looked that way, and 
instead of a palace saw an empty space such as it was before the 


243 


The Oriental Wonder Story 

palace was built, he thought he was mistaken, and rubbed his eyes; 
but when he looked again, he saw nothing more the second time than 
the first, though the weather was fine, the sky clear, and the dawn 
advancing had made all objects very distinct. He looked again in 
front, to the right and left, but beheld nothing more than he had 
formerly been used to see from his window. His amazement was so 
great, that he stood for some time turning his eyes to the spot where 
the palace had stood, but where it was no longer to be seen. He 
could not comprehend how so large a palace as Aladdin’s, which he 
had seen plainly every day for some years, and but the day before, 
should vanish so soon, and not leave the least remains behind. 
“ Certainly,” said he to himself, “ I am not mistaken; it stood there: 
if it had fallen, the materials would have lain in heaps; and if it had 
been swallowed up by an earthquake, ^ there would be some mark 
left.” At last, though he was convinced that no palace stood now 
opposite his own, he could not help staying some time at his window, 
to see whether he might not be mistaken. At last he retired to his 
apartment, not without looking behind him before he quitted the 
spot, ordered the grand vizier to be sent for with expedition, and in 
the meantime sat down, his mind agitated by so many different con- 
jectures that he knew not what to resolve. 

The grand vizier did not make the sultan wait long for him, but 
came with so much precipitation, that neither he nor his attendants, 
as they passed, missed Aladdin’s palace; neither did the porters, 
when they opened the palace gates, observe any alteration. ' 

When he came into the sultan’s presence, he said to him, “ The 
haste in which your Majesty sent for me, makes me believe some- 
thing extraordinary has happened, since you know this is a day of 
public audience, and I should not have failed of attending at the 
usual time.” “ Indeed,” said the sultan, “ it is something very 
extraordinary, as you say, and you will allow it to be so: tell me 
what is become of Aladdin’s palace? ” “His palace! ” replied the 
grand vizier, in amazement, “ I thought as I passed it stood in its 
usual place; such substantial buildings are not so easily removed.” 

“ Go into my closet,” said the sultan, “ and tell me if you can 
see it.” 

The grand vizier went into the closet, where he was struck with 
no less amazement than the sultan had been. When he was well 
assured that there was not the least appearance of the palace, he 
returned to the sultan. “ Well,” said the sultan, “ have you seen 
Aladdin’s palace?” “No,” answered the vizier, “but your Maj- 


244 


Types of Childrens Literature 

esty may remember, that I had the honor to tell you, that palace, 
which was the subject of your admiration, with all its immense 
riches, was only the work of magic and a magician; but your Majesty 
would not pay the least attention to what I said.” 

The sultan, who could not deny what the grand vizier had repre- 
sented to him, flew into the greater passion : 44 Where is that im- 

postor, that wicked wretch,” said he, 44 that I may have his head 
taken off immediately?” 44 Sir,” replied the grand vizier, 44 it is 
some days since he came to take his leave of your Majesty, on pre- 
tense of hunting; he ought to be sent for, to know what is become of 
his palace, since he cannot be ignorant of what has been transacted.” 
44 That is too great an indulgence,” replied the sultan : 44 command 
a detachment of horse to bring him to me loaded with chains.” The 
grand vizier gave orders for a detachment, and instructed the officer 
who commanded them how they were to act, that Aladdin might not 
escape. The detachment pursued their orders ; and about five or six 
leagues from the town met him returning from the chase. The 
officer advanced respectfully, and informed him the sultan was so 
impatient to see him, that he had sent his party to accompany him 
home. 

Aladdin had not the least suspicion of the true reason of their 
meeting him; but when he came within half a league of the city, the 
detachment surrounded him, when the officer addressed himself to 
him, and said, 44 Prince, it is with great regret that I declare to you 
the sultan’s order to arrest you, and to carry you before him as a 
criminal: I beg of you not to take it ill that we acquit ourselves of 
our duty, and to forgive us.” 

Aladdin, who felt himself innocent, was much surprised at this 
declaration, and asked the officer if he knew what crime he was 
accused of; who replied, he did not. Then Aladdin, finding that 
his retinue was much inferior to this detachment, alighted off his 
horse, and said to the officers, 44 Execute your orders ; I am not con- 
scious that I have committed any offense against the sultan’s person 
or government.” A heavy chain was immediately put about his 
neck, and fastened round his body, so that both his arms were pin- 
ioned down ; the officer then put himself at the head of the detach- 
ment, and one of the troopers taking hold of the end of the chain 
and proceeding after the officer, led Aladdin, who was obliged to 
follow him on foot, into the city. 

When this detachment entered the suburbs, the people, who saw 
Aladdin thus led as a state criminal, never doubted but that his head 


245 


The Oriental Wonder Story 

was to be cut off; and as he was generally beloved, some took sabers 
and other arms; and those who had none gathered stones, and fol- 
lowed the escort. The last division faced about to disperse them; 
but their numbers presently increased so much, that the soldiery 
began to think it would be well if they could get into the sultan’s 
palace before Aladdin was rescued; to prevent which, according to 
the different extent of the streets, they took care to cover the ground 
by extending or closing. In this manner they with much difficulty 
arrived at the palace square, and there drew up in a line, till their 
officers and troopers with Aladdin had got within the gates, which 
were immediately shut. 

Aladdin was carried before the sultan, who waited for him, at- 
tended by the grand vizier, in a balcony; and as soon as he saw him, 
he ordered the executioner, who waited there for the purpose, to 
strike off his head without hearing him, or giving him leave to clear 
himself. 

As soon as the executioner had taken off the chain that was fas- 
tened about Aladdin’s neck and body, and laid down a skin stained 
with the blood of the many he had executed, he made the supposed 
criminal kneel down, and tied a bandage over his eyes. Then 
drawing his saber, he took his aim by flourishing it three times in 
the air, waiting for the sultan’s giving the signal to strike. 

At that instant the grand vizier, perceiving that the populace had 
forced the guard of horse, crowded the great square before the pal- 
ace, and were scaling the walls in several places, and beginning to 
pull them down to force their way in, said to the sultan, before he 
gave the signal, “ I beg of your Majesty to consider what you are 
going to do, since you will hazard your palace being destroyed; and 
who knows what fatal consequence may follow?” “My palace 
forced!” replied the sultan; “who can have that audacity?” 
“ Sir,” answered the grand vizier, “ if your Majesty will but cast 
your eyes towards the great square, and on the palace walls, you will 
perceive the truth of what I say.” 

The sultan was so much alarmed when he saw so great a crowd, 
and how enraged they were, that he ordered the executioner to put 
his saber immediately into the scabbard, to unbind Aladdin, and at 
the same time commanded the porters to declare to the people that 
the sultan had pardoned him, and that they might retire. 

Those who had already got upon the walls, and were witnesses of 
what had passed, abandoned their design and got quickly down, 
overjoyed that they had saved the life of a man they dearly loved, 


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Types of Children s Literature 

and published the news amongst the rest, which was presently con- 
firmed by the mace-bearers from the top of the terraces. The jus- 
tice which the sultan had done to Aladdin soon disarmed the popu- 
lace of their rage; the tumult abated, and the mob dispersed. 

When Aladdin found himself at liberty, he turned towards the 
balcony, and perceiving the sultan, raised his voice, and said to him 
in a moving manner, “ I beg of your Majesty to add one favor more 
to that which I have already received, which is, to let me know my 
crime.” “Your crime! ” answered the sultan; “perfidious wretch! 
do you not know it? Come hither, and I will show it you.” 

Aladdin went up, when the sultan, going before him without look- 
ing at him, said, “ Follow me; ” and then led him into his closet. 
When he came to the door, he said, “ Go in ; you ought to know 
whereabouts your palace stood: look round and tell me what is be- 
come of it.” 

Aladdin looked, but saw nothing. He perceived the spot upon 
which his palace had stood; but not being able to divine how it had 
disappeared, was thrown into such great confusion and amazement, 
that he could not return one word of answer. 

The sultan growing impatient, demanded of him again, “ Where 
is your palace, and what is become of my daughter? ” Aladdin 
breaking silence, replied, “ Sir, I perceive and own that the palace 
which I have built is not in its place, but is vanished; neither can I 
tell your Majesty where it may be, but can assure you I had no 
concern in its removal.” 

“ I am not so much concerned about your palace,” replied the 
sultan ; “ I value my daughter ten thousand times more, and would 
have you find her out, otherwise I will cause your head to be struck 
off, and no consideration shall divert me from my purpose.” 

“ I beg of your Majesty,” answered Aladdin, “ to grant me forty 
days to make my inquiries; and if in that time I have not the suc- 
cess I wish, I will offer my head at the foot of your throne, to be 
disposed of at your pleasure.” “ I give you the forty days you 
ask,” said the sultan ; “ but think not to abuse the favor I show you, 
by imagining you shall escape my resentment; for I will find you out 
in whatsoever part of the world you may conceal yourself.” 

Aladdin went out of the sultan’s presence with great humiliation, 
and in a condition worthy of pity. He crossed the courts of the 
palace, hanging down his head, and in such great confusion, that he 
durst not lift up his eyes. The principal officers of the court, who 
had all professed themselves his friends, and whom he had never 


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disobliged, instead of going up to him to comfort him, and offer him 
a retreat in their houses, turned their backs to avoid seeing him. 
But had they accosted him with a word of comfort or offer of service, 
they would have no more known Aladdin. He did not know himself, 
and was no longer in his senses, as plainly appeared by his asking 
everybody he met, and at every house, if they had seen his palace, 
or could tell him any news of it. 

These questions made the generality believe that Aladdin was mad. 
Some laughed at him, but people of sense and humanity, particularly 
those who had had any connection of business or friendship with 
him, really pitied him. For three days he rambled about the city in 
this manner, without coming to any resolution, or eating anything 
but what some compassionate people forced him to take out of 
charity. 

At last, as he could no longer in his unhappy condition stay in a 
city where he had lately been next to the sultan, he took the road to 
the country; and after he had traversed several fields in wild uncer- 
tainty, at the approach of night came to the bank of a river. There, 
possessed by his despair, he said to himself, 44 Where shall I seek my 
palace? In what province, country, or part of the world, shall I 
find that and my dear princess, whom the sultan expects from me? 
I shall never succeed: I had better free myself at once from fruitless 
endeavors, and such bitter grief as preys upon me.” He was just 
going to throw himself into the river, but, as a good Moosulmaun, 
true to his religion, he thought he should not do it without first say- 
ing his prayers. Going to prepare himself, he went to the river’s 
brink, in order to perform the usual ablutions. The place being 
steep and slippery, from the water’s beating against it, he slid down, 
and had certainly fallen into the river, but for a little rock which 
projected about two feet out of the earth. Happily also for him he 
still had on the ring which the African magician had put on his finger 
before he went down into the subterraneous abode to fetch the pre- 
cious lamp. In slipping down the bank he rubbed the ring so hard 
by holding on the rock, that immediately the same genie appeared 
whom he had seen in the cave where the magician had left him. 
“ What wouldst thou have? ” said the genie. 44 I am ready to obey 
thee as thy slave, and the slave of all those that have that ring on 
their finger; both I and the other slaves of the ring.” 

Aladdin, agreeably surprised at an apparition he so little expected 
in his present calamity, replied, 44 Save my life, genie, a second time, 
either by showing me to the place where the palace I caused to be 


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Types of Childrens Literature 

built now stands, or immediately transporting it back where it first 
stood.” “ What you command me,” answered the genie, “ is not 
wholly in my power: I am only the slave of the ring; you must 
address yourself to the slave of the lamp.” “ If that be the case,” 
replied Aladdin, “ I command thee, by the power of the ring, to 
transport me to the spot where my palace stands, in what part of the 
world soever it may be, and set me down under the window of the 
princess Buddir al Buddoor.” These words were no sooner out of 
his mouth, than the genie transported him into Africa, to the midst 
of a large plain, where his palace stood, at no great distance from a 
city, and placing him exactly under the window of the princess’s 
apartment, left him. All this was done almost in an instant. 

Aladdin, notwithstanding the darkness of the night, knew his pal- 
ace and the princess Buddir al Buddoor’s apartment again ; but as the 
night was far advanced, and all was quiet in the palace, he retired to 
some distance, and sat down at the foot of a large tree. There, full 
of hopes, and reflecting on his happiness, for which he was indebted 
to chance, he found himself in a much more comfortable situation 
than when he was arrested and carried before the sultan; being now 
delivered from the immediate danger of losing his life. He amused 
himself for some time with these agreeable thoughts; but not having 
slept for two days, was not able to resist the drowsiness which came 
upon him, but fell fast asleep. 

The next morning, as soon as day appeared, Aladdin was agree- 
ably awakened by the singing not only of the birds which had roosted 
in the tree under which he had passed the night, but also of those 
which frequented the thick groves of the palace garden. When he 
cast his eyes on that wonderful edifice, he felt inexpressible joy at 
thinking he might possibly soon be master of it again, and once 
more possess his dear princess Buddir al Buddoor. Pleased with 
these hopes, he immediately arose, went towards the princess’s apart- 
ment, and walked some time under the window in expectation of her 
rising, that he might see her. During this expectation, he began to 
consider with himself whence the cause of his misfortune had pro- 
ceeded; and after mature reflection, no longer doubted that it was 
owing to having trusted the lamp out of his sight. He accused him- 
self of negligence in letting it be a moment away from him. But 
what puzzled him most was, that he could not imagine who had been 
so envious of his happiness. He would soon have guessed this, if 
he had known that both he and his palace were in Africa, the very 
name of which would soon have made him remember the magician, 


249 


The Oriental Wonder Story 

his declared enemy; but the genie, the slave of the ring, had not 
made the least mention of the name of the country, nor had Aladdin 
inquired. 

The princess rose earlier that morning than she had done since 
her transportation into Africa by the magician, whose presence she 
was forced to support once a day, because he was master of the 
palace; but she had always treated him so harshly that he dared not 
reside in it. As she was dressing, one of the women looking through 
the window perceived Aladdin, and instantly told her mistress. The 
princess, who could not believe the joyful tidings, hastened herself 
to the window, and seeing Aladdin, immediately opened it. The 
noise of opening the window made Aladdin turn his head that way, 
and perceiving the princess he saluted her with an air that expressed 
his joy. “To lose no time,” said she to him, “ I have sent to have 
the private door opened for you; enter, and come up.” 

The private door, which was just under the princess’s apartment, 
was soon opened, and Aladdin conducted up into the chamber. It is 
impossible to express the joy of both at seeing each other, after so 
cruel a separation. After embracing and shedding tears of joy, they 
sat down, and Aladdin said, “ I beg of you, princess, in God’s name, 
before we talk of anything else, to tell me, both for your own sake, 
the sultan your father’s, and mine, what is become of an old lamp 
which I left upon a shelf in my robing-chamber, when I departed 
for the chase.” 

“Alas! dear husband,” answered the princess, “I was afraid our 
misfortune might be owing to that lamp: and what grieves me most 
is, that I have been the cause of it.” “ Princess,” replied Aladdin, 
“ do not blame yourself, since it was entirely my fault, for I ought 
to have taken more care of it. But let us now think only of repair- 
ing the loss; tell me what has happened, and into whose hands it has 
fallen.” 

The princess then related how she had changed the old lamp for 
a new one, which she ordered to be fetched, that he might see it, and 
how the next morning she found herself in the unknown country 
they were then in, which she was told was Africa, by the traitor 
who had transported her thither by his magic art. 

“ Princess,” said Aladdin, interrupting her, “ you have informed 
me who the traitor is, by telling me we are in Africa. He is the 
most perfidious of men; but this is neither a time nor place to give 
you a full account of his villainies. I desire you only to tell me 
what he has done with the lamp, and where he has put it.” “ He 


250 


Types of Children s Literature 

carries it carefully wrapped up in his bosom,” said the princess; 
“ and this I can assure you, because he pulled it out before me, and 
showed it to me in triumph.” 

“ Princess,” said Aladdin, “ do not be displeased that I trouble you 
with so many questions, since they are equally important to us both. 
But to come to what most particularly concerns me; tell me, I con- 
jure you, how so wicked and perfidious a man treats you.” “ Since 
I have been here,” replied the princess, “ he repairs once every day 
to see me; and I am persuaded the little satisfaction he receives from 
his visits makes him come no oftener. All his addresses tend to per- 
suade me to break that faith I have pledged to you, and to take him 
for my husband; giving me to understand, I need not entertain hopes 
of ever seeing you again, for that you were dead, having had your 
head struck off by the sultan my father’s order. He added, to jus- 
tify himself, that you were an ungrateful wretch; that your good 
fortune was owing to him, and a great many other things of that 
nature which I forbear to repeat: but as he received no other answer 
from me but grievous complaints and tears, he was always forced to 
retire with as little satisfaction as he came. I doubt not his intention 
is to allow me time to overcome my grief, in hopes that afterwards I 
may change my sentiments; and if I persevere in an obstinate refusal, 
to use violence. But my dear husband’s presence removes all my 
apprehensions.” 

“ I am confident my attempts to punish the magician will not be in 
vain,” replied Aladdin, “ since my princess’s fears are removed, and 
I think I have found the means to deliver you from both your enemy 
and mine; to execute this design, it is necessary for me to go to the 
town. I shall return by noon, and will then communicate my design 
and what must be done by you to insure success. But that you may 
not be surprised, I think it proper to acquaint you that I shall change 
my apparel, and beg of you to give orders that I may not wait long 
at the private door, but that it may be opened at the first knock: ” 
all which the princess promised to observe. 

When Aladdin was out of the palace, he looked round him on all 
sides, and perceiving a peasant going into the country, hastened 
after him; and when he had overtaken him, made a proposal to him 
to change habits, which the man agreed to. When they had made 
the exchange, the countryman went about his business, and Aladdin 
to the city. After traversing several streets, he came to that part of 
the town where all descriptions of merchants and artisans had their 
particular streets, according to their trades. He went into that of 


251 


The Oriental Wonder Story 

the druggists; and going into one of the largest and best-furnished 
shops, asked the druggist if he had a certain powder which he 
named. 

The druggist, judging Aladdin by his habit to be very poor, and 
that he had not money enough to pay for it, told him he had it, but 
that it was very dear; upon which Aladdin, penetrating his thoughts, 
pulled out his purse, and showing him some gold, asked for half a 
dram of the powder; which the druggist weighed, wrapped up in 
paper, and gave him, telling him the price was a piece of gold. 
Aladdin put the money into his hand, and staying no longer in the 
town than just to get a little refreshment, returned to the palace, 
where he waited not long at the private door. When he came into 
the princess’s apartment, he said to her, “ Princess, perhaps the aver- 
sion you tell me you have for your ravisher may be an objection to 
your executing what I am going to propose; but permit me to say it 
is proper that you should at this juncture dissemble a little, and do 
violence to your inclinations, if you would deliver yourself from 
him, and give my lord the sultan your father the satisfaction of see- 
ing you again. 

“ If you will take my advice,” continued he, “ dress yourself this * 
moment in one of your richest habits, and when the African magi- 
cian comes, make no difficulty to give him the best reception ; receive 
him with a cheerful countenance, so that he may imagine time has 
removed your affliction and disgust at his addresses. In your con- 
versation, let him understand that you strive to forget me; and that 
he may be the more fully convinced of your sincerity, invite him to 
sup with you, and tell him you should be glad to taste of some of 
the best wines of his country. He will presently go to fetch you 
some. During his absence, put into one of the cups you are accus- 
tomed to drink out of this powder, and setting it by, charge the slave 
you may order that night to attend you, on a signal you shall agree 
upon, to bring that cup to you. When the magician and you have 
eaten and drunk as much as you choose, let her bring you the cup, 
and then change cups with him. He will esteem it so great a favor 
that he will not refuse, but eagerly quaff it off; but no sooner will 
he have drunk, than you will see him fall backwards. If you have 
any reluctance to drink out of his cup, you may pretend only to do 
it, without fear of being discovered; for the effect of the powder is 
so quick, that he will not have time to know whether you drink or 
not.” 

When Aladdin had finished, “ I own,” answered the princess, “ I 


252 


Types of Children s Literature 

shall do myself great violence in consenting to make the magician 
such advances as I see are absolutely necessary; but what cannot 
one resolve to do against a cruel enemy? I will therefore follow 
your advice, since both my repose and yours depend upon it.” 
After the princess had agreed to the measures proposed by Aladdin, 
he took his leave, and went and spent the rest of the day in the 
neighborhood of the palace till it was night, and he might safely 
return to the private door. 

The princess, who had remained inconsolable at being separated 
not only from her husband, whom she had loved from the first mo- 
ment, and still continued to love more out of inclination than duty, 
but also from the sultan her father, who had always shown the most 
tender and paternal affection for her, had, ever since their cruel 
separation, lived in great neglect of her person. She had almost 
forgotten the neatness so becoming persons of her sex and quality, 
particularly after the first time the magician paid her a visit; and 
she had understood by some of the women, who knew him again, 
that it was he who had taken the old lamp in exchange for a new 
one, which rendered the sight of him more abhorred. However, the 
* opportunity of taking the revenge he deserved made her resolve to 
gratify Aladdin. As soon, therefore, as he was gone, she sat down 
to dress, and was attired by her women to the best advantage in the 
richest habit of her wardrobe. Her girdle was of the finest and 
largest diamonds set in gold, her necklace of pearls, six on a side, 
so well proportioned to that in the middle, which was the largest 
ever seen, and invaluable, that the greatest sultanesses would 
have been proud to have been adorned with only two of the 
smallest. Her bracelets, which were of diamonds and rubies inter- 
mixed, corresponded admirably to the richness of the girdle and 
necklace. 

When the princess Buddir al Buddoor was completely dressed, she 
consulted her glass and women upon her adjustment; and when she 
found she wanted no charms to flatter the foolish passion of the 
African magician, she sat down on a sofa expecting his arrival. 

The magician came at the usual hour, and as soon as he entered 
the great hall w)iere the princess waited to receive him, she rose 
with an enchanting grace and smile, and pointed with her hand to 
the most honorable place, waiting till he sat down, that she might 
sit at the same time, which was a civility she had never shown him 
before. 

The African magician, dazzled more with the luster of the prin- 


253 


The Oriental W onder Story 

cess’s eyes than the glittering of the jewels with which she was 
adorned, was much surprised. The smiling and graceful air with 
which she received him, so opposite to her former behavior, quite 
fascinated his heart. 

When he was seated, the princess, to free him from his embarrass- 
ment, broke silence first, looking at him all the time in such a 
manner as to make him believe that he was not so odious to her as 
she had given him to understand hitherto, and said, 44 You are 
doubtless amazed to find me so much altered today; but your sur- 
prise will not be so great when I acquaint you, that I am naturally 
of a disposition so opposite to melancholy and grief, sorrow and 
uneasiness, that I always strive to put them as far away as possible 
when I find the subject of them is past. I have reflected on what 
you told me of Aladdin’s fate, and know my father’s temper so well, 
that I am persuaded with you he could not escape the terrible effects 
of the sultan’s rage: therefore, should I continue to lament him all 
my life, my tears cannot recall him. For this reason, since I have 
paid all the duties decency requires of me to his memory, now he 
is in the grave I think I ought to endeavor to comfort myself. 
These are the motives of the change you see in me; I am resolved 
to banish melancholy entirely; and, persuaded that you will bear 
me company tonight, I have ordered a supper to be prepared; but 
as I have no wines but those of China, I have a great desire to taste 
of the produce of Africa, and doubt not your procuring some of 
the best.” 

The African magician, who had looked upon the happiness of get- 
ting so soon and so easily into the princess Buddir al Buddoor’s 
good graces as impossible, could not think of words expressive 
enough to testify how sensible he was of her favor: but to put an 
end the sooner to a conversation which would have embarrassed 
him, if he had engaged farther in it, he turned it upon the wines of 
Africa, and said, 44 Of all the advantages Africa can boast, that of 
producing the most excellent wines is one of the principal. I have a 
vessel of seven years old, which has never been broached; and it is 
indeed not praising it too much to say it is the finest wine in the 
world. If my princess,” added he, 44 will give me leave, I will go 
and fetch two bottles, and return again immediately.” 44 1 should 
be sorry to give you that trouble,” replied the princess; 44 you had 
better send for them.” 44 It is necessary I should go myself,” an- 
swered the African magician; 44 for nobody but myself knows where 
the key of the cellar is laid, or has the secret to unlock the door.” 


254 


Types of Childrens Literature 

“If it be so,” said the princess, 44 make haste back; for the longer 
you stay, the greater will be my impatience, and we shall sit down 
to supper as soon as you return.” 

The African magician, full of hopes of his expected happiness, 
rather flew than ran, and returned quickly with the wine. The prin- 
cess, not doubting but he would make haste, put with her own hand 
the powder Aladdin had given her into the cup set apart for that 
purpose. They sat down at the table opposite to each other, the 
magician’s back towards the beaufet. The princess presented him 
with the best at the table, and said to him, 44 If you please, I will 
entertain you with a concert of vocal and instrumental music; but 
as we are only two, I think conversation may be more agreeable.” 
This the magician took as a new favor. 

After they had eaten some time, the princess called for some wine, 
drank the magician’s health, and afterwards said to him, 44 Indeed 
you had a full right to commend your wine, since I never tasted any 
so delicious.” 44 Charming princess,” said he, holding in his hand 
the cup which had been presented to him, 44 my wine becomes more 
exquisite by your approbation.” 44 Then drink my health,” replied 
the princess; 44 you will find I understand wines.” He drank the 
princess’s health, and returning the cup, said, 44 1 think myself for- 
tunate, princess, that I reserved this wine for so happy an occa- 
sion; and own I never before drank any in every respect so 
excellent.” 

When they had each drunk two or three cups more, the princess, 
who had completely charmed the African magician by her civility 
and obliging behavior, gave the signal to the slave who served them 
with wine, bidding her bring the cup which had been filled for her- 
self, and at the same time bring the magician a full goblet. When 
they both had their cups in their hands, she said to him, 44 1 know 
not how you express your loves in these parts when drinking to- 
gether? With us in China the lover and his mistress reciprocally 
exchange cups, and drink each other’s health : ” at the same time 
she presented to him the cup which was in her hand, and held out 
her hand to receive his. He hastened to make the exchange with the 
more pleasure, because he looked upon this favor as the most cer- 
tain token of an entire conquest over the princess, which raised his 
rapture to the highest pitch. Before he drank, he said to her, with 
the cup in his hand, 44 Indeed, princess, we Africans are not so re- 
fined in the art of love as you Chinese: and your instructing me in 
a lesson I was ignorant of, informs me how sensible I ought to be 


255 


The Oriental TV onder Story 

of the favor done me. I shall never, lovely princess, forget my re- 
covering, by drinking out of your cup, that life, which your cruelty, 
had it continued, must have made me despair of.” 

The princess, who began to be tired with this impertinent declara- 
tion of the African magician, interrupted him, and said, “ Let us 
drink first, and then say what you will afterwards; ” at the same 
time she set the cup to her lips, while the African magician, who 
was eager to get his wine off first, drank up the very last drop. In 
finishing it, he had reclined his head back to show his eagerness, 
and remained some time in that state. The princess kept the cup 
at her lips, till she saw his eyes turn in his head, when he fell back- 
wards lifeless on the sofa. 

The princess had no occasion to order the private door to be 
opened to Aladdin; for her women were so disposed from the great 
hall to the foot of the staircase, that the word was no sooner given 
that the African magician was fallen backwards, than the door was 
immediately opened. 

As soon as Aladdin entered the hall, he saw the magician stretched 
backwards on the sofa. The princess rose from her seat, and ran 
overjoyed to embrace him; but he stopped her, and said, “Princess, 
it is not yet time; oblige me by retiring to your apartment; and let 
me be left alone a moment, while I endeavor to transport you back 
to China as speedily as you were brought from thence.” 

When the princess, her women and eunuchs, were gone out of the 
hall, Aladdin shut the door, and going directly to the dead body of 
the magician, opened his vest, took out the lamp which was care- 
fully wrapped up, as the princess had told him, and unfolding and 
rubbing it, the genie immediately appeared. “ Genie,” said Alad- 
din, “ I have called to command thee, on the part of thy good mis- 
tress this lamp, to transport this palace instantly into China, to the 
place from whence it was brought hither.” The genie bowed his 
head in token of obedience, and disappeared. Immediately the pal- 
ace was transported into China, and its removal was only felt by 
'two little shocks, the one when it was lifted up, the other when it was 
set down, and both in a very short interval of time. 

Aladdin went to the princess’s apartment, and embracing her, said, 
“ I can assure you, princess, that your joy and mine will be com- 
plete tomorrow morning.” The princess, guessing that Aladdin 
must be hungry, ordered the dishes, served up in the great hall, to 
be brought down. The princess and Aladdin ate as much as they 
thought fit, and drank of the African magician’s old wine; during 


256 Types of Childrens Literature 

which time their conversation could not be otherwise than satisfac- 
tory, and then they retired to their own chamber. 

From the time of the transportation of Aladdin’s palace, the prin- 
cess’s father had been inconsolable for the loss of her. He could 
take no rest, and instead of avoiding what might continue his afflic- 
tion he indulged it without restraint. Before the disaster he used to 
go every morning into his closet to please himself with viewing the 
palace; he went now many times in the day to renew his tears, and 
plunge himself into the deepest melancholy, by the idea of no more 
seeing that which once gave him so much pleasure, and reflecting 
how he had lost what was most dear to him in this world. 

The very morning of the return of Aladdin’s palace, the sultan 
went, by break of day, into his closet to indulge his sorrows. Ab- 
sorbed in himself, and in a pensive mood, he cast his eyes towards 
the spot, expecting only to see an open space; but perceiving the 
vacancy filled up, he at first imagined the appearance to be the 
effect of a fog; looking more attentively, he was convinced beyond 
the power of doubt that it was his son-in-law’s palace. Joy and 
gladness succeeded to sorrow and grief. He returned immediately 
into his apartment, and ordered a horse to be saddled and brought 
to him without delay, which he mounted that instant, thinking he 
could not make haste enough to the palace. 

Aladdin, who foresaw what would happen, rose that morning at 
daybreak, put on one of the most magnificent habits his wardrobe 
afforded, and went up into the hall of twenty-four windows, from 
whence he perceived the sultan approaching, and got down soon 
enough to receive him at the foot of the great staircase, and to help 
him to dismount. “ Aladdin,” said the sultan, “ I cannot speak to 
you till I have seen and embraced my daughter.” 

He led the sultan into the princess’s apartment. The happy fa- 
ther embraced her with his face bathed in tears of joy; and the 
princess, on her side, showed him all the testimonies of the extreme 
pleasure the sight of him afforded her. 

The sultan was some time before he could open his lips, so great 
was his surprise and joy to find his daughter again, after he had 
given her up for lost; and the princess, upon seeing her father, let 
fall tears of rapture and affection. 

At last the sultan broke silence, and said, “ I would believe, 
daughter, your joy to see me makes you seem as little changed as if 
no misfortune had befallen you; yet I cannot be persuaded but that 
you have suffered much alarm; for a large palace cannot be so 


257 


The Oriental W onder Story 

suddenly transported as yours has been, without causing great fright 
and apprehension. I would have you tell me all that has happened, 
and conceal nothing from me.” 

The princess, who took great pleasure in giving the sultan the 
satisfaction he demanded, said, “ If I appear so little altered, I beg 
of your Majesty to consider that I received new life yesterday morn- 
ing by the presence of my dear husband and deliverer Aladdin, whom 
I looked upon and bewailed as lost to me; and the happiness of 
seeing and embracing of whom has almost recovered me to my for- 
mer state of health. My greatest suffering was only to find myself 
forced from your Majesty and my dear husband; not only from the 
love I bore my husband, but from the uneasiness I labored under 
through fear that he, though innocent, might feel the effects of your 
anger, to which I knew he was left exposed. I suffered but little 
from the insolence of the wretch who had carried me off ; for having 
secured the ascendant over him, I always put a stop to his disagree- 
able overtures, and was as little constrained as I am at present. 

“ As to what relates to my transportation, Aladdin had no concern 
in it: I was myself the innocent cause of it.” To persuade the sultan 
of the truth of what she said, she gave him a full account how the 
African magician had disguised himself, and offered to change new 
lamps for old ones; how she had amused herself in making that ex- 
change, being entirely ignorant of the secret and importance of the 
wonderful lamp; how the palace and herself were carried away and 
transported into Africa, with the African magician, who was recog- 
nized by two of her women and the eunuch who made the exchange of 
the lamp, when he had the audacity, after the success of his daring 
enterprise, to propose himself for her husband; how he persecuted 
her till Aladdin’s arrival; how they had concerted measures to get 
the lamp from him again, and the success they had fortunately met 
with by her dissimulation in inviting him to supper, and giving him 
the cup with the powder prepared for him. “ For the rest,” added 
she, “ I leave it to Aladdin to recount.” 

Aladdin had not much to tell the sultan, but only said, “ When the 
private door was opened I went up into the great hall, where I found 
the magician lying dead on the sofa; and as I thought it not proper 
for the princess to stay there any longer, I desired her to go down 
into her own apartment, with her women and eunuchs. As soon as 
I was alone, and had taken the lamp out of the magician’s breast, I 
made use of the same secret he had done, to remove the palace, and 
carry off the princess; and by that means the palace was reconveyed 


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to the place where it stood before; and I have the happiness to re- 
store the princess to your Majesty, as you commanded me. But that 
your Majesty may not think that I impose upon you, if you will give 
yourself the trouble to go up into the hall, you may see the magician 
punished as he deserved.” 

The sultan, to be assured of the truth, rose instantly, and went into 
the hall, where, when he saw the African magician dead, and his 
face already livid by the strength of the poison, he embraced Alad- 
din with great tenderness, and said, 44 My son, be not displeased at 
my proceedings against you; they arose from my paternal love; and 
therefore you ought to forgive the excesses to which it hurried me.” 
44 Sir,” replied Aladdin, “ I have not the least reason to complain of 
your Majesty’s conduct, since you did nothing but what your duty 
required. This infamous magician, the basest of men, was the sole 
cause of my misfortune. When your Majesty has leisure, I will give 
you an account of another villainous action he was guilty of towards 
me, which was no less black and base than this, from which I was 
preserved by the providence of God in a very miraculous way.” 44 1 
will take an opportunity, and that very shortly,” replied the sultan, 
44 to hear it; but in the meantime let us think only of rejoicing, and 
the removal of this odious object.” 

Aladdin ordered the magician’s corpse to be removed and thrown 
upon a dunghill, for birds and beasts to prey upon. In the mean- 
time, the sultan commanded the drums, trumpets, cymbals, and other 
instruments of music to announce his joy to the public, and a festival 
of ten days to be proclaimed for the return of the princess and 
Aladdin. 

Thus Aladdin escaped once more the almost inevitable danger of 
losing his life; but this was' not the last, since he ran as great a 
hazard a third time; the circumstances of which I shall relate. 

The African magician had a younger brother, who was equally 
skillful as a necromancer, and even surpassed him in villainy and 
pernicious designs. As they did not live together, or in the same 
city, but oftentimes when one was in the East, the other was in the 
West, they failed not every year to inform themselves, by their art, 
each where the other resided, and whether they stood in need of one 
another’s assistance. 

Some time after the African magician had failed in his enterprise 
against Aladdin, his younger brother, who had heard no tidings of 
him, and was not in Africa, but in a distant country, had the wish 
to know in what part of the world he sojourned, the state of his 


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health, and what he was doing; and as he, as well as his brother, 
always carried a geomantic square instrument about him, he pre- 
pared the sand, cast the points, and drew the figures. On examining 
the planetary mansions, he found that his brother was no longer 
living, but had been poisoned; and by another observation, that he 
was in the capital of the kingdom of China ; also that the person who 
had poisoned him was of mean birth, though married to a princess, 
a sultan’s daughter. 

When the magician had informed himself of his brother’s fate, he 
lost no time in useless regret, which could not restore him to life; 
but resolving immediately to revenge his death, departed for China; 
where, after crossing plains, rivers, mountains, deserts, and a long 
tract of country without delay, he arrived after incredible fatigues. 

When he came to the capital of China, he took a lodging. The 
next day he walked through the town not so much to observe the 
beauties, which were indifferent to him, as to take proper measures 
to execute his pernicious designs. He introduced himself into the 
most frequented places, where he listened to everybody’s discourse. 
In a place where people resort to divert themselves with games of 
various kinds, and where some were conversing, while others played, 
he heard some persons talk of the virtue and piety of a woman 
called Fatima, who was retired from the world, and of the miracles 
she wrought. As he fancied that this woman might be serviceable 
to him in the project he had conceived, he took one of the company 
aside, and requested to be informed more particularly who that holy 
woman was, and what sort of miracles she performed. 

“ What ! ” said the person whom he had addressed, “ have you 
never seen or heard of her? She is the admiration of the whole 
town, for her fasting, her austerities, and her exemplary life. Ex- 
cept Mondays and Fridays, she never stirs out of her little cell; and 
on those days on which she comes into town she does an infinite 
deal of good; for there is not a person that has the headache but is 
cured by her laying her hand upon them.” 

The magician wanted no further information. He only asked the 
person in what part of the town this holy woman’s cell was situated. 
After he had informed himself on this head, he determined on the 
detestable design of murdering her and assuming her character. 
With this view he watched all her steps the first day she went out 
after he had made this inquiry, without losing sight of her till eve- 
ning, when he saw her reenter her cell. When he had fully ob- 
served the place, he went to one of those houses where they sell a 


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certain hot liquor, and where any person may pass the night, par- 
ticularly in the great heats, when the people of that country prefer 
lying on a mat to a bed. About midnight, after the magician had 
satisfied the master of the house for what little he had called for, he 
went out, and proceeded directly to the cell of Fatima. He had no 
difficulty to open the door, which was only fastened with a latch, and 
he shut it again after he had entered, without any noise. When he 
entered the cell, he perceived Fatima by moonlight lying in the air 
on a sofa covered only by an old mat, with her head leaning against 
the wall. He awakened her, and clapped a dagger to her breast. 

The pious Fatima opening her eyes, was much surprised to see a 
man with a dagger at her breast ready to stab her, and who said to 
her, “If you cry out, or make the least noise, I will kill you; but 
get up, and do as I shall direct you.” 

Fatima, who had lain down in her habit, got up, trembling with 
fear. “ Do not be so much frightened,” said the magician ; “ I only 
want your habit, give it me and take mine.” Accordingly Fatima 
and he changed clothes. He then said to her, “ Color my face, that I 
may be like you; ” but perceiving that the poor creature could not 
help trembling, to encourage her he said, “ I tell you again you need 
not fear anything: I swear by the name of God I will not take away 
your life.” Fatima lighted her lamp, led him into the cell, and 
dipping a soft brush in a certain liquor, rubbed it over his face, 
assured him the color would not change, and that his face was of 
the same hue as her own: after which, she put her own head-dress 
on his head, also a veil, with which she showed him how to hide his 
face, as he passed through the town. After this, she put a long 
string of beads about his neck, which hung down to the middle of 
his body, and giving him the stick she used to walk with, in his 
hand, brought him a looking-glass, and hade him look if he was not 
as like her as possible. The magician found himself disguised as 
he wished to be; but he did not keep the oath he so solemnly swore to 
the good Fatima; but instead of stabbing her, for fear the blood 
might discover him, he strangled her; and when he found she was 
dead, threw her body into a cistern just by the cell. 

The magician, thus disguised like the holy woman Fatima, spent 
the remainder of the night in the cell. The next morning, two hours 
after sunrise, though it was not a day the holy woman used to go 
out on, he crept out of the cell, being well persuaded that nobody 
would ask him any questions; or, if they should, he had an answer 
ready for them. As one of the first things he did after his arrival 


261 


The Oriental W onder Story 

was to find out Aladdin’s palace, where he was to complete his 
designs, he went directly thither. 

As soon as the people saw the holy woman, as they imagined him 
to be, they presently gathered about him in a great crowd. Some 
begged his blessing, others kissed his hand, and others, more re- 
served, only the hem of his garment; while others, whether their 
heads ached, or they wished to be preserved against that disorder, 
stooped for him to lay his hands upon them; which he did, muttering 
some words in form of prayer; and, in short, counterfeited so well, 
that everybody took him for the holy woman. 

After frequently stopping to satisfy people of this description, 
who received neither good nor harm from this imposition of hands, 
he came at last to the square before Aladdin’s palace. The crowd 
was so great that the eagerness to get at him increased in proportion. 
Those who were the most zealous and strong forced their way through 
the crowd. There were such quarrels, and so great a noise, that the 
princess, who was in the hall of four-and-twenty windows, heard it, 
and asked what was the matter; but nobody being able to give her 
an answer, she ordered them to inquire and inform her. One of her 
women looked out of a window, and then told her it was a great 
crowd of people collected about the holy woman to be cured of the 
headache by the imposition of her hands. 

The princess, who had long heard of this holy woman, but had 
never seen her, was very desirous to have some conversation with 
her, which the chief of the eunuchs perceiving, told her it was an 
easy matter to bring her to her, if she desired and commanded it; 
and the princess expressing her wishes, he immediately sent four 
eunuchs for the pretended holy woman. 

As soon as the crowd saw the eunuchs, they made way, and the 
magician perceiving also that they were coming for him, advanced 
to meet them, overjoyed to find his plot proceeded so well. “ Holy 
woman,” said one of the eunuchs, “ the princess wants to see you, 
and has sent us for you.” “The princess does me too great 
an honor,” replied the false Fatima: “I am ready to obey her 
command,” and at the same time followed the eunuchs to the 

palace. . ' 

When the magician, who under a holy garment disguised a wicked 
heart, was introduced into the great hall, and perceived the princess, 
he began a prayer, which contained a long enumeration of vows and 
good wishes for the princess’s health and prosperity, and that she 
might have everything she desired. He then displayed all his hypo- 


262 Types of Children s Literature 

critical rhetoric, to insinuate himself into the princess’s favor under 
the cloak of piety, which it was no hard matter for him to do; for 
as the princess herself was naturally good, she was easily persuaded 
that all the world were like her, especially those who made profes- 
sion of serving God in solitude. 

When the pretended Fatima had finished his long harangue, the 
princess said to him, “ I thank you, good mother, for your prayers; 
I have great confidence in them, and hope God will hear them. 
Come, and sit by me.” The false Fatima sat down with affected 
modesty : the princess then resuming her discourse, said, “ My good 
mother, I have one thing to request, which you must not refuse me; 
it is, to stay with me, that you may edify me with your way of 
living; and that I may learn from your good example how to serve 
God.” “ Princess,” said the counterfeit Fatima, “ I beg of you not 
to ask what I cannot consent to, without neglecting my prayers and 
devotion.” “ That shall be no hindrance to you,” answered the 
princess; “I have a great many apartments unoccupied; you shall 
choose which you like best, and have as much liberty to perform your 
devotions as if you were in your own cell.” 

The magician, who desired nothing more than to introduce him- 
self into the palace, where it would be much easier matter for him 
to execute his designs, under the favor and protection of the princess, 
than if he had been forced to come and go from the cell to the pal- 
ace, did not urge much to excuse himself from accepting the oblig- 
ing offer which the princess made him. “ Princess,” said he, “ what- 
ever resolution a poor wretched woman as I am may have made to 
renounce the pomp and grandeur of this world, I dare not presume 
to oppose the will and commands of so pious and charitable a prin- 
cess.” 

Upon this the princess, rising up, said, “Come with me, I will 
show you what vacant apartments I have, that you may make choice 
of that you like best.” The magician followed the princess, and of 
all the apartments she showed him, made choice of that which was 
the worst furnished, saying, It was too good for him, and that he 
only accepted of it to please her. 

Afterwards the princess would have brought him back again into 
the great hall to make him dine with her; but he considering that he 
should then be obliged to show his face, which he had always taken 
care to conceal ; and fearing that the princess should find out that he 
was not Fatima, he begged of her earnestly to excuse him, telling 
her that he never ate anything but bread and dried fruits, and de- 


263 


The Oriental Wonder Story 

siring to eat that slight repast in his own apartment. The prin- 
cess granted his request, saying, “You may be as free here, good 
mother, as if you were in your own cell: I will order you a 
dinner, but remember I expect you as soon as you have finished 
your repast.” 

After the princess had dined, and the false Fatima had been in- 
formed by one of the eunuchs that she was risen from table, he 
failed not to wait upon her. 44 My good mother,” said the princess, 
44 1 am overjoyed to have the company of so holy a woman as your- 
self, who will confer a blessing upon this palace. But now I am 
speaking of the palace, Pray how do you like it? And before I 
show it all to you, tell me first what you think of this hall.” 

Upon this question, the counterfeit Fatima, who, to act his part 
the better, affected to hang down his head, without so much as ever 
once lifting it, at last looked up, and surveyed the hall from one end 
to the other. When he had examined it well, he said to the prin- 
cess, 44 As far as such a solitary being as I am, who am unacquainted 
with what the world calls beautiful, can judge, this hall is truly 
admirable and most beautiful ; there wants but one thing.” “ What 
is that, good mother? ” demanded the princess. 44 Tell me, I con- 
jure you. For my part, I always believed, and have heard say, it 
wanted nothing; but if it does, it shall be supplied.” 

44 Princess,” said the false Fatima, with great dissimulation, 44 for- 
give me the liberty I have taken ; but my opinion is, if it can be of 
any importance, that if a roc’s egg were hung up in the middle of 
the dome, this hall would have no parallel in the four quarters of 
the world, and your palace would be the wonder of the universe.” 

44 My good mother,” said the princess, 44 what bird is a roc, and 
where may one get an egg? ” 44 Princess,” replied the pretended 

Fatima, 44 it is a bird of prodigious size, which inhabits the summit 
of Mount Caucasus; the architect who built your palace can get you 
one.” 

After the princess had thanked the false Fatima for what she be- 
lieved her good advice, she conversed with her upon other matters; 
but could not forget the roc’s egg, which she resolved to request of 
Aladdin when he returned from hunting. He had been gone six 
days, which the magician knew, and therefore took advantage of his 
absence; but he returned that evening after the false Fatima had 
taken leave of the princess, and retired to his apartment. As soon 
as he arrived, he went directly to the princess’s apartment, saluted 
and embraced her, but she seemed to receive him coldly. 44 My prin- 


264 


Types of Childrens Literature 

cess,” said he, “ I think you are not so cheerful as you used to be; 
has anything happened during my absence, which has displeased you, 
or given you any trouble or dissatisfaction? In the name of God 
do not conceal it from me; I will leave nothing undone that is in 
my power to please you.” “ It is a trifling matter,” replied the prin- 
cess, “ which gives me so little concern that I could not have thought 
you could have perceived it in my countenance; but since you have 
unexpectedly discovered some alteration, I will no longer disguise a 
matter of so little consequence from you. 

“ I always believed,” continued the princess, “ that our palace was 
the most superb, magnificent, and complete in the world: but I will 
tell you now what I find fault with, upon examining the hall of four- 
and-twenty windows. Do not you think with me, that it would be 
complete if a roc’s egg were hung up in the midst of the dome? ” 
“ Princess,” replied Aladdin, “ it is enough that you think there 
wants such an ornament; you shall see by the diligence used to sup- 
ply that deficiency, that there is nothing which I would not do for 
your sake.” 

Aladdin left the princess Buddir al Buddoor that moment, and 
went up into the hall of four-and-twenty windows, where pulling out 
of his bosom the lamp, which, after the danger he had been exposed 
to, he always carried about him, he rubbed it; upon which the genie 
immediately appeared. 44 Genie,” said Aladdin, 44 there wants a roc’s 
egg to be hung up in the midst of the dome; I command thee, in the 
name of this lamp, to repair the deficiency.” Aladdin had no 
sooner pronounced these words, than the genie gave so loud and 
terrible a cry, that the hall shook, and Aladdin could scarcely stand 
upright. 44 What ! wretch,” said the genie, in a voice that would 
have made the most undaunted man tremble, 44 is it not enough that 
I and my companions have done everything for you, but you, by an 
unheard-of ingratitude, must command me to bring my master, and 
hang him up in the midst of this dome? This attempt deserves that 
you, your wife, and your palace, should be immediately reduced to 
ashes: but you are happy that this request does not come from your- 
self. Know, then, that the true author is the brother of the African 
magician, your enemy, whom you have destroyed as he deserved. 
He is now in your palace, disguised in the habit of the holy woman 
Fatima, whom he has murdered; and it is he who has suggested to 
your wife to make this pernicious demand. His design is to kill you, 
therefore take care of yourself.” After these words, the genie dis- 
appeared. . 


265 


The Oriental Wonder Story 

Aladdin lost not a word of what the genie had said. He had heard 
talk of the holy woman Fatima, and how she pretended to cure the 
headache. He returned to the princess’s apartment, and without 
mentioning a word of what had happened, sat down, and complained 
of a great pain which had suddenly seized his head ; upon which the 
princess, ordered the holy woman to be called, and then told him 
how she had invited her to the palace, and that she had appointed 
her an apartment. 

When the pretended Fatima came, Aladdin said, “ Come hither, 
good mother; I am glad to see you here at so fortunate a time; I 
am tormented with a violent pain in my head, and request your 
assistance, by the confidence I have in your good prayers, and hope 
you will not refuse me that favor which you do to so many persons 
afflicted with this complaint.” So saying, he arose, but held down 
his head. The counterfeit Fatima advanced towards him, with his 
hand all the time on a dagger concealed in his girdle under his 
gown; which Aladdin observing, he seized his hand before he had 
drawn it, pierced him to the heart with his own dagger, and then 
pushed him down on the floor. 

“My dear husband, what have you done? ” cried the princess in 
surprise. “ You have killed the holy woman.” “ No, my princess,” 
answered Aladdin, with emotion, “ I have not killed Fatima, but a 
villain, who would have assassinated me, if I had not prevented 
him. This wicked wretch,” added he, uncovering his face, “has 
strangled Fatima, whom you accuse me of killing, and disguised him- 
self in her clothes with intent to murder me : but that you may know 
him better, he is brother to the African magician.” Aladdin then 
informed her how he came to know these particulars, and after- 
wards ordered the dead body to be taken away. 

Thus was Aladdin delivered from the persecution of two brothers, 
who were magicians. Within a few years afterwards, the sultan died 
in a good old age, and as he left no male children, the princess 
Buddir al Buddoor, as lawful heir of the throne, succeeded him, and 
communicating the power to Aladdin, they reigned together many 
years, and left a numerous and illustrious posterity. 
















































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MYTHS AND LEGENDS 

Classic 

THE GORGON’S HEAD 
Nathaniel Hawthorne 

Perseus was the son of Danae, who was the daughter of a king. 
And when Perseus was a very little boy, some wicked people put his 
mother and himself into a chest, and set them afloat upon the sea. 
The wind blew freshly, and drove the chest away from the shore, 
and the uneasy billows tossed it up and down; while Danae clasped 
her child closely to her bosom, and dreaded that some big wave 
would dash its foamy crest over them both. The chest sailed on, 
however, and neither sank nor was upset; until, when night was 
coming, it floated so near an island that it got entangled in a fisher- 
man’s nets, and was drawn out high and dry upon the sand. The 
island was called Seriphus, and it was reigned over by King Poly- 
dectes, who happened to be the fisherman’s brother. 

This fisherman, I am glad to tell you, was an exceedingly humane 
and upright man. He showed great kindness to Danae and her little 
boy; and continued to befriend them, until Perseus had grown to be 
a handsome youth, very strong and active, and skillful in the use of 
arms. Long before this time King Polydectes had seen the two 
strangers — the mother and her child — who had come to his do- 
minions in a floating chest. As he was not good and kind, like his 
brother the fisherman, but extremely wicked, he resolved to send 
Perseus on a dangerous enterprise, in which he would probably be 
killed, and then to do some great mischief to Danae herself. So this 
bad-hearted king spent a long while in considering what was the 
most dangerous thing that a young man could possibly undertake to 
perform. At last, having hit upon an enterprise that promised to 
turn out as fatally as he desired, he sent for the youthful Perseus. 

The young man came to the palace, and found the king sitting 
upon his throne. 

“ Perseus,” said King Polydectes, smiling craftily upon him, “ you 
are grown up a fine young man. You and your good mother have 
received a great deal of kindness from myself, as well as from my 
worthy brother, the fisherman, and I suppose you would not be sorry 
to repay some of it.” 


267 


268 


Types of Childrens Literature 

“ Please, your Majesty,” answered Perseus, “I would willingly risk 
my life to do so.” 

“ Well, then,” continued the king, still with a cunning smile on 
his lips, “ I have a little adventure to propose to you; and, as you are 
a brave and enterprising youth, you will doubtless look upon it as 
a great piece of good luck to have so rare an opportunity of dis- 
tinguishing yourself. You must know, my good Perseus, I think of 
getting married to the beautiful Princess Hippodamia; and it is cus- 
tomary, on these occasions, to make the bride a present of some far- 
fetched and elegant curiosity. I have been a little perplexed, I must 
honestly confess, where to obtain anything likely to please a princess 
of her exquisite taste. But, this morning, I flatter myself, I have 
thought of precisely the article.” 

“And can I assist your Majesty in obtaining it? ” cried Perseus, 
eagerly. 

“ You can, if you are as brave a youth as I believe you to be,” 
replied King Polydectes, with the utmost graciousness of manner. 
“ The bridal gift which I have set my heart on presenting to the 
beautiful Hippodamia is the head of the Gorgon Medusa, with the 
snaky locks; and I depend on you, my dear Perseus, to bring it to 
me. So, as I am anxious to settle affairs with the princess, the sooner 
you go in quest of the Gorgon, the better I shall be pleased.” 

“ I will set out tomorrow morning,” answered Perseus. 

“Pray do so, my gallant youth,” rejoined the king. “And, Per- 
seus, in cutting off the Gorgon’s head, be careful to make a clean 
stroke, so as not to injure its appearance. You must bring it home 
in the very best condition, in order to suit the exquisite taste of the 
beautiful Princess Hippodamia.” 

Perseus left the palace, but was scarcely out of hearing before 
Polydectes burst into a laugh; being greatly amused, wicked king 
that he was, to find how readily the young man fell into the snare. 
The news quickly spread abroad, that Perseus had undertaken to cut 
off the head of Medusa with the snaky locks. Everybody was re- 
joiced; for most of the inhabitants of the island were as wicked as 
the king himself, and would have liked nothing better than to see 
some enormous mischief happen to Danae and her son. The only 
good man in this unfortunate island of Seriphus appears to have 
been the fisherman. As Perseus walked along, therefore, the people 
pointed after him, and made mouths, and winked to one another, 
and ridiculed him as loudly as they dared. 

“Ho, ho!” cried they; “Medusa’s snakes will sting him 
soundly! ” 


269 


Myths and Legends 

Now, there were three Gorgons alive, at that period, and they were 
the most strange and terrible monsters that had ever been seen since 
the world was made, or that have been seen in after days, or that are 
likely to be seen in all time to come. I hardly know what sort of 
creature or hobgoblin to call them. They were three sisters, and 
seem to have borne some distant resemblance to women, but were 
really a very frightful and mischievous species of dragon. It is, 
indeed, difficult to imagine what hideous beings these three sisters 
were. Why, instead of locks of hair, if you can believe me, they 
had each of them a hundred enormous snakes growing on their 
heads, all alive, twisting, wriggling, curling, and thrusting out their 
venomous tongues, with forked stings at the end! The teeth of the 
Gorgons were terribly long tusks; their hands were made of brass; 
and their bodies were all over scales, which, if not iron, were some- 
thing as hard and impenetrable. They had wings, too, and exceed- 
ingly splendid ones, I can assure you; for every feather in them was 
pure, bright, glittering, burnished gold, and they looked very daz- 
zlingly, no doubt, when the Gorgons were flying about in the sun- 
shine. 

But when people happened to catch a glimpse of their glittering 
brightness, aloft in the air, they seldom stopped to gaze, but ran 
and hid themselves as speedily as they could. You will think, per- 
haps, that they were afraid of being stung by the serpents that served 
the Gorgons instead of hair — or of having their heads bitten off by 
their ugly tusks, — or of being torn all to pieces by their brazen claws. 
Well, to be sure, these were some of the dangers, but by no means the 
greatest, nor the most difficult to avoid. For the worst thing about 
these abominable Gorgons was, that, if once a poor mortal fixed his 
eyes full upon one of their faces, he was certain, that very instant, 
to be changed from warm flesh and blood into cold and lifeless stone! 

Thus, as you will easily perceive, it was a very dangerous adven- 
ture that the wicked King Polydectes had contrived for this innocent 
young man. Perseus himself, when he had thought over the matter, 
could not help seeing that he had very little chance of coming safely 
through it, and that he was far more likely to become a stone image 
than to bring back the head of Medusa with the snaky locks. For, 
not to speak of other difficulties, there was one which it would have 
puzzled an older man than Perseus to get over. Not only must he 
fight with and slay this golden-winged, iron-scaled, long-tusked, 
brazen-clawed, snaky-haired monster, but he must do it with his 
eyes shut, or, at least, without so much as a glance at the enemy 


270 


Types of Childrens Literature 

with whom he was contending. Else, while his arm was lifted to 
strike, he would stiffen into stone, and stand with that uplifted arm 
for centuries, until time, and the wind and weather, should crumble 
him quite away. This would be a very sad thing to befall a young 
man who wanted to perform a great many brave deeds and to enjoy 
a great deal of happiness in this bright and beautiful world. 

So disconsolate did these thoughts make him, that Perseus could 
not bear to tell his mother what he had undertaken to do. He there- 
fore took his shield, girded on his sword, and crossed over from the 
island to the mainland, where he sat down in a solitary place, and 
hardly refrained from shedding tears. 

But, while he was in this sorrowful mood, he heard a voice close 
beside him. 

“ Perseus,” said the voice, “ why are you so sad? ” 

He lifted his head from his hands, in which he had hidden it, 
and, behold! all alone as Perseus had supposed himself to be, there 
was a stranger in the solitary place. It was a brisk, intelligent, and 
remarkably shrewd-looking young man, with a cloak over his shoul- 
ders, an odd sort of cap on his head, a strangely twisted staff in his 
hand, and a short and very crooked sword hanging by his side. He 
was exceeding light and active in his figure, like a person much 
accustomed to gymnastic exercises, and well able to leap or run. 
Above all, the stranger had such a cheerful, knowing, and helpful 
aspect (though it was certainly a little mischievous, into the bar- 
gain), that Perseus could not help feeling his spirits grow livelier, 
as he gazed at him. Besides, being really a courageous youth, he 
felt greatly ashamed that anybody should have found him with tears 
in his eyes, like a timid little schoolboy, when, after all, there might 
be no occasion for despair. So Perseus wiped his eyes, and an- 
swered the stranger pretty briskly, putting on as brave a look as 
he could. 

“I am not so very sad,” said he; “only thoughtful about an 
adventure that I have undertaken.” 

“Oho!” answered the stranger. “Well, tell me all about it, 
and possibly I may be of service to you. I have helped a good 
many young men through adventures that looked difficult enough 
beforehand. Perhaps you may have heard of me. I have more 
names than one; but the name of Quicksilver suits me as well as any 
other. Tell me what your trouble is, and we will talk the matter 
over and see what can be done.” 

The stranger’s words and manner put Perseus into quite a different 


Myths and Legends 271 

mood from his former one. He resolved to tell Quicksilver all his 
difficulties, since he could not easily be worse off than he already 
was, and, very possibly, his new friend might give him some advice 
that would turn out well in the end. So he let the stranger know, 
in few words, precisely what the case was; — how that King Poly- 
dectes wanted the head of Medusa with the snaky locks as a bridal 
gift for the beautiful Princess Hippodamia, and how that he had 
undertaken to get it for him, but was afraid of being turned into 
stone. 

And that would be a great pity,” said Quicksilver, with his 
mischievous smile. 44 You would make a very handsome marble 
statue, it is true, and it would be a considerable number of centuries 
before you crumbled away; but, on the whole, one would rather be a 
young man for a few years, than a stone image for a great many.” 

“ Oh, far rather! ” exclaimed Perseus, with the tears again stand- 
ing in his eyes. “ And, besides, what would my dear mother do, 
if her beloved son were turned into a stone? ” 

6£ Well, well; let us hope that the affair will not turn out so very 
badly,” replied Quicksilver, in an encouraging tone. “ I am the 
very person to help you, if anybody can. My sister and myself will 
do our utmost to bring you safe through the adventure, ugly as it 
now looks.” 

“ Your sister? ” repeated Perseus. 

“ Yes, my sister,” said the stranger. 44 She is very wise, I promise 
you; and as for myself, I generally have all my wits about me, such 
as they are. If you show yourself bold and cautious, and follow 
our advice, you need not fear being a stone image yet awhile. But, 
first of all, you must polish your shield, till you can see your face 
in it as distinctly as in a mirror.” 

This seemed to Perseus rather an odd beginning of the adventure; 
for he thought it of far more consequence that the shield should be 
strong enough to defend him from the Gorgon’s brazen claws than 
that it should be bright enough to show him the reflection of his face. 
However, concluding that Quicksilver knew better than himself, he 
immediately set to work and scrubbed the shield with so much dili- 
gence and good will, that it very quickly shone like the moon at 
harvest time. Quicksilver looked at it with a smile, and nodded his 
approbation. Then, taking off his own short and crooked sword, 
he girded it about Perseus instead of the one which he had before 
worn. 

44 No sword but mine will answer your purpose,” observed he: 


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Types of Childrens Literature 


“ the blade has a most excellent temper, and will cut through iron 
and brass as easily as through the slenderest twig. And now we will 
set out. The next thing is to find the Three Gray Women, who will 
tell us where to find the Nymphs.” 

“ The Three Gray Women ! ” cried Perseus, to whom this seemed 
only a new difficulty in the path of his adventure; “ pray, who may 
the Three Gray Women be? I never heard of them before.” 

“ They are three very strange old ladies,” said Quicksilver, laugh- 
ing. “ They have but one eye among them, and only one tooth. 
Moreover, you must find them out by starlight or in the dusk of the 
evening; for they never show themselves by the light either of the 


sun or moon.” 

“ But,” said Perseus, “ why should I waste my time with these 
Three Gray Women? Would it not be better to set out at once in 
search of the terrible Gorgons? ” 

“ No, no,” answered his friend. “ There are other things to be 
done, before you can find your way to the Gorgons. There is noth- 
ing for it, but to hunt up these old ladies; and when we meet with 
them, you may be sure that the Gorgons are not a great ways off. 
Come, let us be stirring! ” 

Perseus, by this time, felt so much confidence in his companion’s 
sagacity, that he made no more objections, and professed himself 
ready to begin the adventure immediately.. They accordingly set out, 
and walked at a pretty brisk pace; so brisk, indeed, that Perseus 
found it rather difficult to keep up with his nimble friend Quicksilver. 
To say the truth, he had a singular idea that Quicksilver was fur- 
nished with a pair of winged shoes, which, of course, helped him 
along marvelously. And then, too, when Perseus looked sideways 
at him, out of the corner of his eye, he seemed to see wings on the 
side of his head; although, if he turned a full gaze, there were 
no such things to be perceived, but only an odd kind of cap. But, 
at all events, the twisted staff was evidently a great convenience to 
Quicksilver, and enabled him to proceed so fast, that Perseus, though 
a remarkably active young man, began to be out of breath. 

“Here!” cried Quicksilver at last — for he knew well enough, 
rogue that he was, how hard Perseus found it to keep pace with 
him — “ take you the staff, for you need it a great deal more 
than I. Are there no better walkers than yourself in the island of 
Seriphus? ” 

“ I could walk pretty well,” said Perseus, glancing slyly at his 
companion’s feet, “ if I had only a pair of winged shoes.” 


273 


Myths and Legends 

“We must see about getting you a pair,” answered Quicksilver. 

But the staff helped Perseus along so bravely, that he no longer 
felt the slightest weariness. In fact, the stick seemed to be alive in 
his hand, and to lend some of its life to Perseus. He and Quick- 
silver now walked onward at their ease, talking very sociably to- 
gether; and Quicksilver told so many pleasant stories about his 
former adventures, and how well his wits had served him on various 
occasions, that Perseus began to think him a very wonderful person. 
He evidently knew the world; and nobody is so charming to a young 
man as a friend who has that kind of knowledge. Perseus listened 
the more eagerly, in the hope of brightening his own wits by what he 
heard. 

At last he happened to recollect that Quicksilver had spoken of a 
sister, who was to lend her assistance in the adventure which they 
were now bound upon. 

“ Where is she? ” he inquired. “ Shall we not meet her soon? ” 

“ All at the proper time,” said his companion. “ But this sister 
of mine, you must understand, is quite a different sort of character 
from myself. She is very grave and prudent, seldom smiles, never 
laughs, and makes it a rule not to utter a word unless she has some- 
thing particularly profound to say. Neither will she listen to any 
but the wisest, conversation.” 

“Dear me!” ejaculated Perseus; “I shall be afraid to say a 
syllable.” 

“ She is a very accomplished person, I assure you,” continued 
Quicksilver, “ and has all the arts and sciences at her fingers’ ends. 
In short, she is so immoderately wise, that many people call her 
wisdom personified. But, to tell you the truth, she has hardly vivac- 
ity enough for my taste; and I think you would scarcely find her so 
pleasant a traveling companion as myself. She has her good points, 
nevertheless; and you will find the benefit of them, in your en- 
counter with the Gorgons.” 

By this time it had grown quite dusk. They were now come to a 
very wild and desert place, overgrown with shaggy bushes, and so 
silent and solitary that nobody seemed ever to have dwelt or jour- 
neyed there. All was waste and desolate, in the gray twilight, which 
grew every moment more obscure. Perseus looked about him rather 
disconsolately, and asked Quicksilver whether they had a great deal 
farther to go. 

“Hist! hist!” whispered his companion. “ Make no noise. 
This is just the time and place to meet the Three Gray Women. Be 


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Types of Children s Literature 

careful that they do not see you before you see them, for, though 
they have but a single eye among the three, it is as sharp-sighted as 
half a dozen common eyes.” 

“ But what must I do,” asked Perseus, “ when we meet them? ” 

Quicksilver explained to Perseus how the Three Gray Women 
managed with their one eye. They were in the habit, it seems, of 
changing it from one to another, as if it had been a pair of spectacles 
or — which would have suited them better — a quizzing-glass. 
When one of the three had kept the eye a certain time, she took it out 
of the socket and passed it to one of her sisters, whose turn it 
might happen to be, and who immediately clapped it into her own 
head and enjoyed a peep at the visible world. Thus it will easily be 
understood that only one of the Three Gray Women could see, while 
the other two were in utter darkness; and, moreover, at the instant 
when the eye was passing from hand to hand neither of the poor old 
ladies was able to see a wink. I have heard of a great many 
strange things, in my day, and have witnessed not a few; but none, 
it seems to me, that can compare with the oddity of these Three 
Gray Women, all peeping through a single eye. 

So thought Perseus, likewise, and was so astonished that he almost 
fancied his companion was joking with him, and that there were no 
such old women in the world. 

“ You will soon find whether I tell the truth or no,” observed 
Quicksilver. “Hark! hush! hist! hist! There they come, now! ” 

Perseus looked earnestly through the dusk of the evening, and 
there, sure enough, at no great distance off, he descried the Three 
Gray Women. The light being so faint, he could not well make out 
what sort of figures they were; only he discovered that they had long 
gray hair; and, as they came nearer, he saw that two of them had but 
the empty socket of an eye, in the middle of their foreheads. But, in 
the middle of the third sister’s forehead, there was a very large, 
bright, and piercing eye, which sparkled like a great diamond in a 
ring; and so penetrating did it seem to be, that Perseus could not 
help thinking it must possess the gift of seeing in the darkest mid- 
night just as perfectly as at noonday. The sight of three persons’ 
eyes was melted and collected into that single one. 

Thus the three old dames got along about as comfortably, upon 
the whole, as if they could all see at once. She who chanced to 
have the eye in her forehead led the other two by the hands, peeping 
sharply about her, all the while, insomuch that Perseus dreaded lest 
she should see right through the thick clump of bushes behind which 


Myths and Legends 275 

he and Quicksilver had hidden themselves. My stars! it was posi- 
tively terrible to be within reach of so very sharp an eye! 

But before they reached the clump of bushes one of the Three 
Gray Women spoke. 

“ Sister ! Sister Scarecrow ! ” cried she, 44 you have had the eye 
long enough. It is my turn now! ” 

44 Let me keep it a moment longer, Sister Nightmare,” answered 
Scarecrow 44 1 thought I had a glimpse of something behind that 
thick bush.” 

44 Well, and what of that? ” retorted Nightmare, peevishly. 
44 Can’t I see into a thick bush as easily as yourself? The eye is 
mine, as well as yours, and I know the use of it as well as you, or 
maybe a little better. I insist upon taking a peep immediately.” 

But here the third sister, whose name was Shakejoint, began to 
complain, and said that it was her turn to have the eye, and that 
Scarecrow and Nightmare wanted to keep it all to themselves. To 
end the dispute, old Dame Scarecrow took the eye out of her forehead 
and held it forth in her hand. 

44 Take it, one of you,” cried she, 44 and quit this foolish quarrel- 
ing. For my part, I shall be glad of a little thick darkness. Take 
it quickly, however, or I must clap it into my own head again ! ” 

Accordingly, both Nightmare and Shakejoint stretched out their 
hands, groping eagerly to snatch the eye out of the hand of 
Scarecrow. But, being both alike blind, they could not easily find 
where Scarecrow’s hand was; and Scarecrow, being now just as much 
in the dark as Shakejoint and Nightmare, could not at once meet 
either of their hands, in order to put the eye into it. Thus (as you 
will see, with half an eye, my wise little auditors) these good old 
dames had fallen into a strange perplexity. For, though the eye 
shone and glistened like a star, as Scarecrow held it out, yet the Gray 
Women caught not the least glimpse of its light, and were all three 
in utter darkness, from too impatient a desire to see. 

Quicksilver was so much tickled at beholding Shakejoint and 
Nightmare both groping for the eye, and each finding fault with 
Scarecrow and one another, that he could scarcely help laughing 
aloud. 

44 Now is your time! ” he whispered to Perseus. 44 Quick, quick! 
before they can clap the eye into either of their heads. Rush out 
upon the old ladies, and snatch it from Scarecrow’s hand ! ” 

In an instant, while the Three Gray Women were still scolding 
each other, Perseus leaped from behind the clump of bushes, and 


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Types of Children s Literature 

made himself master of the prize. The marvelous eye, as he held 
it in his hand, shone very brightly, and seemed to look up into his 
face with a knowing air, and an expression as if it would have 
winked, had it been provided with a pair of eyelids for that purpose. 
But the' Gray Women knew nothing of what had happened ; and, each 
supposing that one of her sisters was in possession of the eye, they 
began their quarrel anew. At last, as Perseus did not wish to put 
these respectable dames to greater inconvenience than was really 
necessary, he thought it right to explain the matter. 

44 My good ladies,” said he, 44 pray do not be angry with one 
another. If anybody is in fault, it is myself ; for I have the honor 
to hold your very brilliant and excellent eye in my own hand.” 

“You! you have our eye! And who are you? ” ‘screamed the 
Three Gray Women all in a breath, for they were terribly fright- 
ened, of course, at hearing a strange voice, and discovering that 
their eyesight had got into the hands of they could not guess whom. 
44 Oh, what shall we do, sisters? what shall we do? We are all in 
the dark! Give us our eye! Give us our one, precious, solitary 
eye! You have two of your own! Give us our eye! ” 

44 Tell them,” whispered Quicksilver to Perseus, 44 that they shall 
have back the eye as soon as they direct you where to find the 
Nymphs who have the flying slippers, the magic wallet, and the 
helmet of darkness.” 

44 My dear, good, admirable old ladies,” said Perseus, addressing 
the Gray Women, 44 there *is no occasion for putting yourselves into 
such a fright. I am by no means a bad young man. You shall have 
back your eye, safe and sound, and as bright as ever, the moment 
you tell me where to find the Nymphs.” 

“The Nymphs! Goodness me! sisters, what Nymphs does he 
mean? ” screamed Scarecrow. 44 There are a great many Nymphs, 
people say; some that go a-hunting in the woods, and some that live 
inside of trees, and some that have a comfortable home in fountains 
of water. We know nothing at all about them. We are three 
unfortunate old souls, that go wandering about in the dusk, and never 
had but one eye amongst us, and that one you have stolen away. 
Oh, give it back, good stranger ! — whoever you are, give it back ! ” 

All this while, the Three Gray Women were groping with their 
outstretched hands, and trying their utmost to get hold of Perseus. 
But he took good care to keep out of their reach. 

44 My respectable dames,” said he — for his mother had taught 
him always to use the greatest civility — 44 1 hold your eye fast in 


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Myths and Legends 

my hand, and shall keep it safely for you, until you please to tell 
me where to find these Nymphs. The Nymphs, I mean, who keep the 
enchanted wallet, the flying slippers, and the what is it? — the hel- 
met of invisibility.” 

44 Mercy on us, sisters! what is the young man talking about? ” 
exclaimed Scarecrow, Nightmare, and Shakejoint one to another, 
with great appearance of astonishment. 44 A pair of flying slippers, 
quoth he! His heels would quickly fly higher than his head, if he 
were silly enough to put them on. And a helmet of invisibility! 
How could a helmet make him invisible, unless it were big enough 
for him to hide under it? And an enchanted wallet! What sort 
of a contrivance may that be, I wonder? No, no, good stranger! 
we can tell you nothing of these marvelous things. You have two 
eyes of your own, and we have but a single one amongst us three. 
You can find out such wonders better than three blind old creatures 
like us.” 

Perseus, hearing them talk in this way, began really to think that 
the Gray Women knew nothing of the matter; and. as it grieved 
him to have put them to so much trouble, he was just on the point 
of restoring their eye and asking pardon for his rudeness in snatch- 
ing it away. But Quicksilver caught his hand. 

44 Don’t let them make a fool of you,” said he. 44 These Three 
Gray Women are the only persons in the world that can tell you 
where to find the Nymphs; and, unless you get that information, 
you will never succeed in cutting off the head of Medusa with the 
snaky locks. Keep fast hold of the eye, and all will go well.” 

As it turned out, Quicksilver was in the right. There are but few 
things that people prize so much as they do their eyesight; and the 
Gray Women valued their single eye as highly as if it had been half 
a dozen, which was the number they ought to have had. Finding 
that there was no other way of recovering it, they at last told Perseus 
what he wanted to know. No sooner had they done so, than he 
immediately, and with the utmost respect, clapped the eye into the 
vacant socket in one of their foreheads, thanked them for their 
kindness, and bade them farewell. Before the young man was out 
of hearing, however, they had got into a new dispute, because he 
happened to have given the eye to Scarecrow, who had already taken 
her turn of it when their trouble with Perseus commenced. 

It is greatly to be feared that the Three Gray Women were very 
much in the habit of disturbing their mutual harmony by bickerings 
of this sort; which was the more pity, as they could not conveniently 


278 Types of Children s Literature 

do without one another, and were evidently intended to be insepar- 
able companions. As a general rule, I would advise all people, 
whether sisters or brothers, old or young, who chance to have but one 
eye amongst them, to cultivate forbearance, and not all insist upon 
peeping through it at once. 

Quicksilver and Perseus in the meantime were making the best of 
their way in quest of the Nymphs. The old dames had given them 
such particular directions, that they were not long in finding them 
out. They proved to be very different persons from Nightmare, 
Shake joint, and Scarecrow; for, instead of being old, they were 
young and beautiful; and instead of one eye amongst the sister- 
hood, each Nymph had two exceedingly bright eyes of her own, with 
which she looked very kindly at Perseus. They seemed to be 
acquainted with Quicksilver; and when he told them the adventure 
which Perseus had undertaken, they made no difficulty about giving 
him the valuable articles that were in their custody. In the first 
place, they brought out what appeared to be a small purse, made 
of deerskin, and curiously embroidered, and bade him be sure and 
keep it safe. This was the magic wallet. The Nymphs next pro- 
duced a pair of shoes, or slippers, or sandals, with a nice little pair 
of wings at the heel of each. 

“ Put them on, Perseus,” said Quicksilver. “ You will find your- 
self as light-heeled as you can desire for the remainder of our 
journey.” 

So Perseus proceeded to put one of the slippers on, while he laid 
the other on the ground by his side. Unexpectedly, however, this 
other slipper spread its wings, fluttered up off the ground, and 
would probably have flown away, if Quicksilver had not made a 
leap, and luckily caught it in the air. 

“ Be more careful,” said he, as he gave it back to Perseus. “ It 
would frighten the birds, up aloft, if they should see a flying slipper 
amongst them.” 

When Perseus had got on both of these wonderful slippers, he 
was altogether too buoyant to tread on earth. Making a step or 
two, lo and behold! upward he popt into the air, high above the 
heads of Quicksilver and the Nymphs, and found it very difficult to 
clamber down again. Winged slippers, and all such high-flying 
contrivances, are seldom quite easy to manage, until one grows a 
little accustomed to them. Quicksilver laughed at his compan- 
ion’s involuntary activity, and told him that he must not be in so 
desperate a hurry, but must wait for the invisible helmet. 


Myths and Legends 279 

The good-natured Nymphs had the helmet, with its dark tuft of 
waving plumes, all in readiness to put upon his head. And now 
there happened about as wonderful an incident as anything that 
I have yet told you. The instant before the helmet was put on, 
there stood Perseus, a beautiful young man, with golden ringlets and 
rosy cheeks, the crooked sword by his side, and the brightly polished 
shield upon his arm, — a figure that seemed all made up of courage, 
sprightliness, and glorious light. But when the helmet had de- 
scended over his white brow there was no longer any Perseus to be 
seen! Nothing but empty air! Even the helmet that covered him 
with its invisibility, had vanished! 

“ Where are you, Perseus? ” asked Quicksilver. 

“Why, here, to be sure!” answered Perseus very quietly, al- 
though his voice seemed to come out of the transparent atmosphere. 
“ Just where I was a moment ago. Don’t you see me? ” 

“ No, indeed! ” answered his friend. “You are hidden under the 
helmet. But if I cannot see you, neither can the Gorgons. Follow 
me, therefore, and we will try your dexterity in using the winged 
slippers.” 

With these words Quicksilver’s cap spread its wings, as if his 
head were about to fly away from his shoulders; but his whole 
figure rose lightly into the air, and Perseus followed. By the time 
they had ascended a few hundred feet, the young man began to feel 
what a delightful thing it was to leave the dull earth so far beneath 
him, and to be able to flit about like a bird. 

It was now deep night. Perseus looked upward, and saw the 
round, bright, silvery moon, and thought that he should desire 
nothing better than to soar up thither, and spend his life there. 
Then he looked downward again, and saw the earth, with its seas, 
and lakes, and the silver courses of its rivers, and its snowy moun- 
tain peaks, and the breadth of its fields, and the dark cluster of its 
woods, and its cities of white marble; and, with the moonshine 
sleeping over the whole scene, it was as beautiful as the moon or 
any star could be. And, among other objects, he saw the island 
of Seriphus, where his dear mother was. Sometimes, he and Quick- 
silver approached a cloud, that, at a distance, looked as if it were 
made of fleecy silver; although, when they plunged into it, they found 
themselves chilled and moistened with gray mist. So swift was their 
flight, however, that, in an instant, they emerged from the cloud into 
the moonlight again. Once, a high-soaring eagle flew right against 
the invisible Perseus. The bravest sights were the meteors, that 


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Types of Children s Literature 

gleamed suddenly out, as if a bonfire had been kindled in the sky, 
and made the moonshine pale for as much as a hundred miles 
around them. 

As the two companions flew onward, Perseus fancied that he could 
hear the rustle of a garment close by his side; and it was on the 
side opposite to the one where he beheld Quicksilver, yet only 
Quicksilver was visible. 

“ Whose garment is this,” inquired Perseus, “ that keeps rustling 
close beside me, in the breeze? ” 

“Oh, it is my sister’s! ” answered Quicksilver. “She is coming 
along with us, as I told you she would. We could do nothing with- 
out the help of my sister. You have no idea how wise she is. She 
has such eyes, too! Why, she can see you, at this moment, just as 
distinctly as if you were not invisible; and I’ll venture to say, she 
will be the first to discover the Gorgons.” 

By this time, in their swift voyage through the air, they had come 
within sight of the great ocean, and were soon flying over it. Far 
beneath them, the waves tossed themselves tumultuously in midsea, 
or rolled a white surf-line upon the long beaches, or foamed against 
the rocky cliffs with a roar that was thunderous, in the lower world; 
although it became a gentle murmur, like the voice of a baby half 
asleep, before it reached the ears of Perseus. Just then a voice spoke 
in the air close by him. It seemed to be a woman’s voice, and was 
melodious, though not exactly what might be called sweet, but grave 
and mild. 

“ Perseus,” said the voice, “ there are the Gorgons.” 

“ Where? ” exclaimed Perseus. “ I cannot see them.” 

“ On the shore of that island beneath you,” replied the voice. 
“ A pebble, dropped from your hand, would strike in the midst of 
them.” 

“ I told you she would be the first to discover them,” said Quick- 
silver to Perseus. “ And there they are ! ” 

Straight downward, two or three thousand feet below him, Per- 
seus perceived a small island, with the sea breaking into white 
foam all around its rocky shore, except on one side, where there 
was a beach of snowy sand. He descended towards it, and, looking 
earnestly at a cluster or heap of brightness, at the foot of a precipice 
of black rocks, behold, there were the terrible Gorgons! They lay 
fast asleep, soothed by the thunder of the sea; for it required a 
tumult that would have deafened everybody else to lull such fierce 
creatures into slumber. The moonlight glistened on their steely 


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Myths and Legends 

scales, and on their golden wings, which drooped idly over the sand. 
Their brazen claws, horrible to look at, were thrust out, and clutched 
the wave-beaten fragments of rock, while the sleeping Gorgons 
dreamed of tearing some poor mortal all to pieces. The snakes, 
that served them instead of hair, seemed likewise to be asleep; 
although, now and then, one would writhe, and lift its head, and 
thrust out its forked tongue, emitting a drowsy hiss, and then let 
itself subside among its sister snakes. 

The Gorgons were more like an awful, gigantic kind of insect — 
immense, golden-winged beetles, or dragon-flies, or things of that 
sort,— at once ugly and beautiful, — than like anything else; only 
that they were a thousand and a million times as big. And, with all 
this, there was something partly human about them, too. Luckily 
for Perseus, their faces were completely hidden from him by the 
posture in which they lay; for, had he but looked one instant at them, 
he would have fallen heavily out of the air, an image of senseless 
stone. 

“ Now,” whispered Quicksilver as he hovered by the side of Per- 
seus, — “ now is your time to do .the deed ! Be quick, for, if one of 
the Gorgons should awake, you are too late.” 

“ Which shall I Strike at? ” asked Perseus, drawing his sword and 
descending a little lower. “ They all three look alike. All three 
have snaky locks. Which of the three is Medusa? ” 

It must be understood that Medusa was the only one of these 
dragon-monsters whose head Perseus could possibly cut off. As for 
the other two, let him have the sharpest sword that ever was 
forged, and he might have hacked away by the hour together, 
without doing them the least harm. 

“ Be cautious,” said the calm voice which had before spoken to 
him. “ One of the Gorgons is stirring in her sleep, and is just about 
to turn over. That is Medusa. Do not look at her. The sight 
would turn you to stone. Look at the reflection of her face and 
figure in the bright mirror of your shield.” 

Perseus now understood Quicksilver’s motive for so earnestly 
exhorting him to polish his shield. In its surface, he could safely 
look at the reflection of the Gorgon’s face. And there it was, — that 
terrible countenance, — mirrored in the brightness of the shield, with 
the moonlight falling over it, and displaying all its horror. The 
snakes, whose venomous natures could not altogether sleep, kept 
twisting themselves over the forehead. It was the fiercest and most 
horrible face that ever was seen or imagined, and yet with a strange, 


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fearful, and savage kind of beauty in it. The eyes were closed, and 
the Gorgon was still in a deep slumber; but there was an unquiet 
expression disturbing her features, as if the monster was troubled 
with an ugly dream. She gnashed her white tusks, and dug into the 
sand with her brazen claws. 

The snakes, too, seemed to feel Medusa’s dream, and to be made 
more restless by it. They twined themselves into tumultuous knots, 
writhed fiercely, and uplifted a hundred hissing heads, without 
opening their eyes. 

“ Now, now ! ” whispered Quicksilver, who was growing im- 
patient. “ Make a dash at the monster ! ” 

“ But be calm,” said the grave, melodious voice, at the young 
man’s side. “ Look in your shield, as you fly downward, and take 
care that you do not miss your first stroke.” 

Perseus flew cautiously downward, still keeping his eyes on 
Medusa’s face, as reflected in his shield. The nearer he came, the 
more terrible did the snaky visage and metallic body of the monster 
grow. At last, when he found himself hovering over her within 
arm’s length, Perseus uplifted his sword, while, at the same instant, 
each separate snake upon the Gorgon’s head stretched threateningly 
upward, and Medusa unclosed her eyes. But she awoke too late. 
The sword was sharp; the stroke fell like a lightning flash; and the 
head of the wicked Medusa tumbled from her body! 

“ Admirably done ! ” cried Quicksilver. “ Make haste, and clap 
the head into your magic wallet.” 

To the astonishment of Perseus, the small, embroidered wallet, 
which he had hung about his neck, and which had hitherto been no 
bigger than a purse, grew all at once large enough to contain 
Medusa’s head. As quick as thought, he snatched it up, with the 
snakes still writhing upon it, and thrust it in. 

“Your task is done,” said the calm voice. “Now fly; for the 
other Gorgons will do their utmost to take vengeance for Medusa’s 
death.” 

It was indeed necessary to take flight; for Perseus had not done 
the deed so quietly but that the clash of his sword, and the hissing 
of the snakes, and the thump of Medusa’s head as it tumbled upon 
the sea-beaten sand, awoke the other two monsters. There they 
sat, for an instant, sleepily rubbing their eyes with their brazen 
fingers, while all the snakes on their heads reared themselves on 
end with surprise, and with venomous malice against they knew 
not what. But when the Gorgons saw the scaly carcass of Medusa, 


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Myths and Legends 

headless, and her golden wings all ruffled, and half spread out on 
the sand, it was really awful to hear what yells and screeches they 
set up. And then the snakes! They sent forth a hundred-fold hiss, 
with one consent, and Medusa’s snakes answered them, out of the 
magic wallet. 

No sooner were the Gorgons broad awake, than they hurtled up- 
ward into the air, brandishing their brass talons, gnashing their hor- 
rible tusks, and flapping their huge wings so wildly, that some of the 
golden feathers were shaken out, and floated down upon the shore. 
And there, perhaps, those very feathers lie scattered, till this day. 
Up rose the Gorgons, as I tell you, staring horribly about, in hopes 
of turning somebody to stone. Had Perseus looked them in the 
face, or had he fallen into their clutches, his poor mother would 
never have kissed her boy again! But he took good care to turn 
his eyes another way; and, as he wore the helmet of invisibility, 
the Gorgons knew not in what direction to follow him; nor did he 
fail to make the best use of the winged slippers, by soaring up- 
ward a perpendicular mile or so. At that height, when the screams 
of those abominable creatures sounded faintly beneath him, he made 
a straight course for the island of Seriphus, in order to carry 
Medusa’s head to King Polydectes. 

I have no time to tell you of several marvelous things that befell 
Perseus, on his way homeward; such as his killing a hideous sea- 
monster, just as it was on the point of devouring a beautiful 
maiden; nor how he changed an enormous giant into a mountain 
of stone, merely by showing him the head of the Gorgon. If you 
doubt this latter story, you may make a voyage to Africa, some 
day or other, and see the very mountain, which is still known by the 
ancient giant’s name. 

Finally, our brave Perseus arrived at the island, where he expected 
to see his dear mother. But, during his absence, the wicked king 
had treated Danae so very ill, that she was compelled to make 
her escape, and had taken refuge in a temple, where some good old 
priests were extremely kind to her. These praiseworthy priests, and 
the kind-hearted fisherman, who had first shown hospitality to 
Danae and little Perseus when he found them afloat in the chest, 
seem to have been the only persons on the island who cared about 
doing right. All the rest of the people, as well as King Polydectes 
himself, were remarkably ill-behaved, and deserved no better destiny 
than that which was now to happen. 

Not finding his mother at home, Perseus went straight to the 


284 Types of Childrens Literature 

palace, and was immediately ushered into the presence of the king. 
Polydectes was by no means rejoiced to see him, for he had felt 
almost certain, in his own evil mind, that the Gorgons would have 
torn the poor young man to pieces, and have eaten him up, out of 
the way. However, seeing him safely returned, he put the best face 
he could upon the matter and asked Perseus how he had suc- 
ceeded. 

“Have you performed your promise?” inquired he. “Have 
you brought me the head of Medusa with the snaky locks? If not, 
young man,. it will cost you dear; for I must have a bridal present for 
the beautiful Princess Hippodamia, and there is nothing else that 
she would admire so much.” 

“ Yes, please your Majesty,” answered Perseus, in a quiet way, 
as if it were no very wonderful deed for such a young man as he 
to perform. “ I have brought you the Gorgon’s head, snaky locks 
and all.” 

“ Indeed ! Pray let me see it,” quoth King Polydectes. “ It must 
be a very curious spectacle, if all that travelers tell about it be 
true.” 

“ Your Majesty is in the right,” replied Perseus. “ It is really 
an object that will be pretty certain to fix the regards of all who 
look at it. And, if your Majesty think fit, I would suggest that a 
holiday be proclaimed, and that all your Majesty’s subjects be 
summoned to behold this wonderful curiosity. Few of them, I 
imagine, have seen a Gorgon’s head before, and perhaps never may 
again! ” 

The king well knew that his subjects were an idle set of repro- 
bates, and very fond of sight-seeing, as idle persons usually are. 
So he took the young man’s advice, and sent out heralds and 
messengers, in all directions, to blow the trumpet at the street cor- 
ners, and in the market-places, and wherever two roads met, and sum- 
mon everybody to court. Thither, accordingly, came a great multi- 
tude of good-for-nothing vagabonds, all of whom, out of pure love 
of mischief, would have been glad if Perseus had met with some 
ill-hap, in his encounter with the Gorgons. If there were any 
better people in the island (as I really hope there may have been, 
although the story tells nothing about any such), they stayed 
quietly at home, minding their own business, and taking care of 
their little children. Most of the inhabitants, at all events, ran as 
fast as they could to the palace, and shoved, and pushed, and 
elbowed one another, in their eagerness to get near a balcony, on 


Myths and Legends 285 

which Perseus showed himself, holding the embroidered wallet in 
his hand. 

On a platform, within full view of the balcony, sat the mighty 
King Polydectes, amid his evil counselors, and with his flattering 
courtiers in a semicircle round about him. Monarch, counselors, 
courtiers, and subjects, all gazed eagerly toward Perseus. 

“ Show us the head ! Show us the head ! ” shouted the people ; 
and there was a fierceness in their cry, as if they would tear Per- 
seus to pieces, unless he should satisfy them with what he had to 
show. “ Show us the head of Medusa with the snaky locks ! ” 

A feeling of sorrow and pity came over the youthful Perseus. 

“ O King Polydectes,” cried he, “ and ye many people, I am very 
loath to show you the Gorgon’s head.” 

“Ah, the villain and coward! ” yelled the people, more fiercely 
than before. “He is making game of us! He has no Gorgon’s 
head! Show us the head, if you have it, or we will take your own 
head for a football ! ” 

The evil counselors whispered bad advice in the king’s ear; the 
courtiers murmured, with one consent, that Perseus had shown dis- 
respect to their royal lord and master ; and the great King Polydectes 
himself w T aved his hand and ordered him, with the stern, deep voice 
of authority, on his peril, to produce the head. 

“ Show me the Gorgon’s head, or I will cut off your own! ” 

And Perseus sighed. 

“ This instant,” repeated Polydectes, “ or you die ! ” 

“ Behold it, then ! ” cried Perseus, in a voice like the blast of a 
trumpet. 

And, suddenly holding up the head, not an eyelid had time to 
wink before the wicked King Polydectes, his evil counselors, and all 
his fierce subjects, were no longer anything but the mere images of 
a monarch and his people. They were all fixed, forever, in the 
look and attitude of that moment! At the first glimpse of the ter- 
rible head of Medusa, they whitened into marble! And Perseus 
thrust the head back into his wallet, and went to tell his dear 
mother that she need no longer be afraid of the wicked King Poly- 
dectes. 


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Types of Childrens Literature 
THESEUS 

Charles Kingsley 
PART I 

HOW THESEUS LIFTED THE STONE 

Once upon a time there was a princess in Troezene, Aithra, the 
daughter of Pittheus the king. She had one fair son, named Theseus, 
the bravest lad in all the land; and Aithra never smiled but when 
she looked at him, for her husband had forgotten her, and lived 
far away. And she used to go up to the mountain above Troezene, 
to the temple of Poseidon, and sit there all day looking out across 
the bay, over Methana, to the purple peaks of iEgina and the Attic 
shore beyond. And when Theseus was full fifteen years old she 
took him up with her to the temple, and into the thickets of the 
grove which grew in the temple yard. And she led him to a tall 
plane tree, beneath whose shade grew arbutus, and lentisk, and 
purple heather bushes. And there she sighed, and said, “ Theseus, 
my son, go into that thicket, and you will find at the plane 
tree foot a great flat stone; lift it, and bring me what lies under- 
neath.” 

Then Theseus pushed his way in through the thick bushes, and 
saw that they had not been moved for many a year. And search- 
ing among their roots he found a great flat stone, all overgrown 
with ivy, and acanthus, and moss. He tried to lift it, but he could 
not. And he tried till the sweat ran down his brow from heat, and 
the tears from his eyes for shame: but all was of no avail. And at 
last he came back to his mother, and said, “ I have found the stone, 
but I cannot lift it; nor do I think that any man could in all 
Troezene.” 

Then she sighed, and said, “The gods wait long; but they are 
just at last. Let it be for another year. The day may come when 
you will be a stronger man than lives in all Troezene.” 

Then she took him by the hand, and went into the temple and 
prayed, and came down again with Theseus to her home. 

And when a full year was past, she led Theseus up again to the 
temple, and bade him lift the stone: but he could not. 

Then she sighed, and said the same words again, and went down, 
and came again the next year; but Theseus could not lift the stone 
then, nor the year after; and he wanted to ask his mother the 


Myths and Legends 287 

meaning of that stone, and what might lie underneath it; but her 
face was so sad that he had not the heart to ask. 

So he said to himself, “ The day shall surely come when I will 
lift that stone, though no man in Trcezene can.” And in order to 
grow strong he spent all his days in wrestling, and boxing, and 
hurling, and taming horses, and hunting the boar and the bull, and 
coursing goats and deer among the rocks; till upon all the moun- 
tains there was no hunter so swift as Theseus; and he killed Phaia 
the wild sow of Crommyon, which wasted all the land; till all 
the people said, “ Surely the Gods are with the lad.” 

And when his eighteenth year was past, Aithra led him up again 
to the temple, and said, “ Theseus, lift the stone this day, or never 
know who you are.” And Theseus went into the thicket, and stood 
over the stone, and tugged at it; and it moved. Then his spirit 
swelled within him, and he said, “ If I break my heart in my body, 
it shall up.” And he tugged at it once more, and lifted it, and 
rolled it over with a shout. 

And when he looked beneath it, on the ground lay a sword of 
bronze, with a hilt of glittering gold, and by it a pair of golden 
sandals; and he caught them up, and burst through the bushes like 
a wild boar, and leapt to his mother, holding them high above his 
head. 

But when she saw them she wept long in silence, hiding her fair 
face in her shawl: and Theseus stood by her wondering, and wept 
also, he knew not why. And when she was tired of weeping, she 
lifted up her head, and laid her finger on her lips, and said, “ Hide 
them in your bosom, Theseus my son, and come with me where 
we can look down upon the sea.” 

Then they went outside the sacred wall, and looked down over the 
bright blue sea; and Aithra said, — 

“ Do you see this land at our feet? ” 

And he said, “ Yes, this is Troezene, where I was born and bred.” 

And she said, “ It is but a little land, barren and rocky, and 
looks toward the bleak north-east. Do you see that land beyond? ” 

“Yes; that is Attica, where the Athenian people dwell.” 

“ That is a fair land and large, Theseus my son ; and it looks 
toward the sunny south; a land of olive oil and honey, the joy of 
gods and men. For the gods have girdled it with mountains, whose 
veins are of pure silver, and their bones of marble white as snow; 
and there the hills are sweet with thyme and basil, and the meadows 
with violet and asphodel, and the nightingales sing all day in the 


288 Types of Childrens Literature 

thickets, by the side of ever-flowing streams. There are twelve 
towns well peopled, the homes of an ancient race, the children of 
Kecrops the serpent-king, the son of Mother Earth, who wear gold 
cicalas among the tresses of their golden hair; for like the cicalas 
they sprang from the earth, and like the cicalas they sing all day, 
rejoicing in the genial sun. What would you do, son Theseus, 
if you were king of such a land? 

Then Theseus stood astonished, as he looked across the broad 
bright sea, and saw the fair Attic shore, from Sunium to Hymettus 
and Pentelicus, and all the mountain peaks which girdle Athens 
round. But Athens itself he could not see, for purple .ZEgina 
stood before it, midway across the sea. 

Then his heart grew great within him, and he said, “ If I were 
king of such a land I would rule it wisely and well in wisdom and 
in might, that when I died all men might weep over my tomb, and 
cry, ‘ Alas for the shepherd of his people!’ ” 

And Aithra smiled, and said, “Take, then, the sword and the 
sandals, and go to TEgeus, king of Athens, who lives on Pallas’ 
hill; and say to him, ‘The stone is lifted, but whose is the pledge 
beneath it? ’ Then show him the sword and the sandals, and take 
what the Gods shall send.” 

But Theseus wept, “ Shall I leave you, 0 my mother? ” 

But she answered, “ Weep not for me. That which is fated must 
be; and grief is easy to those who do naught but grieve. Full of 
sorrow was my youth, and full of sorrow my womanhood. Full 
of sorrow was my youth for Bellerophon the slayer of the Chi- 
maera, whom my father drove away by treason; and full of sorrow 
my womanhood, for thy treacherous father and for thee; and full 
of sorrow my old age will be (for I see my fate in dreams), when 
the sons of the Swan shall carry me captive to the hollow vale of 
Eurotas, till I sail across the seas a slave, the handmaid of the pest 
of Greece. Yet shall I be avenged, when the golden-haired heroes 
sail against Troy, and sack the palaces of Ilium; then my son shall 
set me free from thralldom, and I shall hear the tale of Theseus’s 
fame. Yet beyond that I see new sorrows; but I can bear them as 
I have borne the past.” 

Then she kissed Theseus, and wept over him; and went into the 
temple, and Theseus saw her no more. 


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Myths and Legends 

PART II 

HOW THESEUS SLEW THE DEVOURERS OF MEN 

So Theseus stood there alone, with his mind full of many hopes. 
And first he thought of going down to the harbor and hiring a swift 
ship, and sailing across the bay to Athens; but even that seemed too 
slow for him, and he longed for wings to fly across the sea, and find 
his father. But after a while his heart began to fail him; and he 
sighed, and said within himself — 

“ What if my father have other sons about him whom he loves? 
What if he will not receive me? And what have I done that he 
should receive me? He has forgotten me ever since I was borm why 
should he welcome me now? ” 

Then he thought a long while sadly; and at the last he cried 
aloud, “Yes! I will make him love me; for I will prove myself 
worthy of his love. I will win honor and renown, and do such 
deeds that /Egeus shall be proud of me, though he had fifty other 
sons! Did not Heracles win himself honor though he was opprest, 
and the slave of Eurystheus? Did he not kill all robbers and evil 
beasts, and drain great lakes and marshes, breaking the hills 
through with his club? Therefore it was that all men honored 
him, because he rid them of their miseries, and made life pleasant to 
them and their children after them. Where can I go, to do as 
Heracles has done? Where can I find strange adventures, robbers, 
and monsters, and the children of hell, the enemies of men? I will 
go by land, and into the mountains, and round by the way of the 
Isthmus. Perhaps there I may hear of brave adventures, and do 
something which shall win my father’s love.” 

So he went by land, and away into the mountains, with his father’s 
sword upon his thigh, till he came to the Spider Mountains, which 
hang over Epidaurus and the sea, where the glens run downward 
from one peak in the midst, as the rays spread in the spider’s 
web. 

And he went up into the gloomy glens, between the furrowed 
marble walls, till the lowland grew blue beneath his feet, and the 
clouds drove damp about his head. 

But he went up and up forever, through the spider’s web of glens, 
till he could see the narrow gulfs spread below him, north and 
south, and east and west; black cracks half-choked with mists, and 
above all a dreary down. 

But over that down he must go, for there was no road right or 


290 Types of Childrens Literature 

left; so he toiled on through bog and brake, till he came to a 
pile of stones. 

And on the stones a man was sitting, wrapt in a bearskin cloak. 
The head of the bear served him for a cap, and its teeth grinned 
white around his brows; and the feet were tied about his throat, and 
their claws shone white upon his chest. And when he saw Theseus 
he rose, and laughed till the glens rattled. 

“ And who art thou, fair fly, who hast walked into the spider’s 
web? ” But Theseus walked on steadily, and made no answer: but 
he thought, “ Is this some robber? and has an adventure come 
already to me? ” But the strange man laughed louder than ever, 
and said, — 

“ Bold fly, know you not that these glens are the web from which 
no fly ever finds his way out again, and this down the spider’s house, 
and I the spider who suck the flies? Come hither, and let me feast 
upon you, for it is of no use to run away, so cunning a web has my 
father Hephaistus spread for me, when he made these clefts in the 
mountains, through which no man finds his way home.” 

But Theseus came on steadily, and asked, — 

“And what is your name among men, bold spider? and where 
are your spider’s fangs? ” 

Then the strange man laughed again, — 

“ My name is Periphetes, the son of Hephaistus and Anticleia the 
mountain nymph. But men call me Corynetes the club-bearer; and 
here is my spider’s fang.” 

And he lifted from off the stones at his side a mighty club of 
bronze. 

“ This my father gave me, and forged it himself in the roots of the 
mountain; and with it I pound all proud flies till they give out their 
fatness and their sweetness. So give me up that gay sword of yours, 
and your mantle, and your golden sandals, lest I pound you, and 
by ill luck you die.” 

But Theseus wrapt his mantle round his left arm quickly in 
hard folds, from his shoulder to his hand, and drew his sword, and 
rushed upon the club-bearer, and the club-bearer rushed on him. 

Thrice he struck at Theseus, and made him bend under the blows 
like a sapling; but Theseus guarded his head with his left arm, 
and the mantle which was wrapped around it. 

And thrice Theseus sprang upright after the blow, like a sapling 
when the storm is past; and he stabbed at the club-bearer with his 
sword, but the loose folds of the bearskin saved him. 


291 


Myths and Legends 

Then Theseus grew mad, and closed with him, and caught him by 
the throat, and they fell and rolled over together; but when Theseus 
rose up from the ground the club-bearer lay still at his feet. 

Then Theseus took his club and his bearskin, and left him to the 
kites and crows, and went upon his journey down the glens on the 
further slope, till he came to a broad green valley, and saw flocks 
and herds sleeping beneath the trees. 

And by the side of a pleasant fountain, under the shade of rocks 
and trees, were nymphs and shepherds dancing; but no one piped to 
them while they danced. 

And when they saw Theseus they shrieked; and the shepherds ran 
off, and drove away their flocks; while the nymphs dived into the 
fountain like coots, and vanished. 

Theseus wondered and laughed : “ What strange fancies have 

folks here who run away from strangers, and have no music when 
they dance! ” But he was tired, and dusty, and thirsty; so he 
thought no more of them, but drank and bathed in the clear pool, 
and then lay down in the shade under a plane tree, while the 
water sang him to sleep as it tinkled down from stone to stone. 

And when he woke he heard a whispering, and saw the nymphs 
peeping at him across the fountain from the dark mouth of a cave, 
where they sat on green cushions of moss. And one said, “ Surely 
he is not Periphetes; ” and another, “He looks like no robber, but 
a fair and gentle youth.” 

Then Theseus smiled and called them: “ Fair nymphs, I am not 
Periphetes. He sleeps among the kites and crows: but I have 
brought away his bearskin and his club.” 

Then they leapt across the pool, and came to him, and called the 
shepherds back. And he told them how he had slain the club- 
bearer: and the shepherds kissed his feet, and sang, “Now we shall 
feed our flocks in peace, and not be afraid to have music when we 
dance; for the cruel club-bearer has met his match, and he will 
listen for our pipes no more.” 

Then they brought him kid’s flesh and wine, and the nymphs 
brought him honey from the rocks; and he ate, and drank, and slept 
again, while the nymphs and shepherds danced and sang. And when 
he woke, they begged him to stay; but he would not. “ I have a 
great work to do,” he said ; “ I must be away toward the Isthmus, 
that I may go to Athens.” 

But the shepherds said, “ Will you go alone toward Athens? 
None travel that way now, except in armed troops.” 


292 


Types of Childrens Literature 

“ As for arms, I have enough, as you see. And as for troops, an 
honest man is good enough company for himself. Why should I not 
go alone toward Athens? ” 

“ If you do, you must look warily about you on the Isthmus, 
lest you meet Sinis the robber, whom men call Pituocamptes the 
• pine-bender; for he bends down two pine trees, and binds all trav- 
elers hand and foot between them; and when he lets the trees go 
again, their bodies are torn in sunder.” 

“ And after that,” said another, “ you must go inland, and not 
dare to pass over the cliffs of Sciron; for on the left hand are the 
mountains, and on the right the sea, so that you have no escape 
but must needs meet Sciron the robber, who will make you wash 
his feet; and while you are washing them he will kick you over 
the cliff, to the tortoise who lives below, and feeds upon the bodies 
of the dead.” 

And before Theseus could answer, another cried, “ And after 
that is a worse danger still, unless you go inland always, and leave 
Eleusis far on your right. For in Eleusis rules Kerkuon the cruel 
king, the terror of all mortals, who killed his own daughter Alope in 
prison. But she was changed into a fair fountain; and her child 
he cast out upon the mountains; but the wild mares gave it milk. 
And now he challenges all comers to wrestle with him; for he is 
the best wrestler in all Attica, and overthrows all who come; and 
those whom he overthrows he murders miserably, and his palace- 
court is full of their bones.” 

Then Theseus frowned, and said, “ This seems indeed an ill-ruled 
land, and adventures enough in it to be tried. But if I am the heir 
of it, I will rule it and right it, and here is my royal scepter.” And 
he shook his club of bronze, while the nymphs and shepherds 
clung round him, and entreated him not to go. 

But on he went nevertheless, till he could see both the seas, and 
the citadel of Corinth towering high above all the land. And he past 
swiftly along the Isthmus, for his heart burned to meet that cruel 
Sinis; and in a pine-wood at last he met him, where the Isthmus was 
narrowest and the road ran between high rocks. There he sat, upon 
a stone by the wayside, with a young fir tree for a club across his 
knees, and a cord laid ready by his side; and over his head, upon 
the fir tops, hung the bones of murdered men. 

Then Theseus shouted to him, “ Holla, thou valiant pine-bender, 
hast thou two fir trees left for me? ” 

And Sinis leapt to his feet, and answered, pointing to the bones 


293 


Myths and Legends 

above his head, “ My larder has grown empty lately, so I have two 
fir trees ready for thee.” And he rushed on Theseus, lifting his 
club, and Theseus rushed upon him. 

Then they hammered together till the greenwoods rang; but the 
metal was tougher than the pine; and Sinis’ club broke right across, 
as the bronze came down upon it. Then Theseus heaved up another 
mighty stroke, and smote Sinis down upon his face; and knelt 
upon his back, and bound him with his own cord, and said, “ As 
thou hast done to others, so shall it be done to thee.” Then he 
bent down two young fir trees, and bound Sinis between them, for 
all his struggling and his prayers; and let them go, and ended 
Sinis, and went on, leaving him to the hawks and crows. 

Then he went over the hills toward Megara, keeping close along 
the Saronic Sea, till he came to the cliffs of Sciron, and the narrow 
path between the mountain and the sea. 

And there he saw Sciron sitting by a fountain at the edge of the 
cliff. On his knees was a mighty club; and he had barred the 
path with stones, so that every one must stop who came up. 

Then Theseus shouted to him, and said, “ Holla, thou tortoise- 
feeder, do thy feet need washing today? ” 

And Sciron leapt to his feet, and answered — 

“ My tortoise is empty and hungry, and my feet need washing 
today.” And he stood before his barrier, and lifted up his club 
in both hands. 

Then Theseus rushed upon him; and sore was the battle upon the 
cliff; for when Sciron felt the weight of the bronze club, he dropt 
his own, and closed with Theseus, and tried to hurl him by main 
force over the cliff. But Theseus was a wary wrestler, and dropt his 
own club, and caught him by the throat and by the knee, and forced 
him back against the wall of stones, and crushed him up against 
them, till his breath was almost gone. And Sciron cried pant- 
ing, “ Loose me, and I will let thee pass.” But Theseus answered, 
“I must not pass till I have made the rough way smooth; ” and 
forced him back against the wall till it fell, and Sciron rolled 
head over heels. 

Then Theseus lifted him up all bruised, and said, “ Come hither 
and wash my feet.” And he drew his sword, and sat down by the 
well, and said, “ Wash my feet, or I cut you piecemeal.” 

And Sciron washed his feet trembling; and when it was done, 
Theseus rose and cried, “ As thou hast done to others, so shall it be 
done to thee. Go feed thy tortoise thyself; ” and he kicked him 
over the cliff into the sea. 


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And whether the tortoise ate him I know not; for some say that 
earth and sea both disdained to take his body, so foul it was with 
sin. So the sea cast it out upon the shore, and the shore cast it 
back into the sea, and at last the waves hurled it high into the air, 
in anger; and it hung there long without a grave, till it was changed 
into a desolate rock, which stands there in the surge until this day. 

This at least is true, which Pausanias tells, that in the royal porch 
at Athens he saw the figure of Theseus modeled in clay, and by him 
Sciron the robber, falling headlong into the sea. 

Then he went a long day’s journey, past Megara, into the Attic 
land, and high before him rose the snow-peaks of Cithaeron, all 
cold above the black pine woods, where haunt the Furies, and the 
raving Bacchae, and the nymphs who drive men wild, far aloft upon 
the dreary mountains, where the storms howl all day long. And 
on his right hand was the sea always, and Salamis, with its island 
cliffs, and the sacred strait of the sea-fight, where afterwards the 
Persians fled before the Greeks. So he went all day, until the eve- 
ning, till he saw the Thriasian plain, and the sacred city of Eleusis, 
where the Earth-mother’s temple stands. For there she met Trip- 
tolemus, when all the land lay waste, Demeter the kind Earth- 
mother, and in her hands a sheaf of corn. And she taught him to 
plow the fallows, and to yoke the lazy kine; and she taught him to 
sow the seed-fields, and to reap the golden grain; and sent him 
forth to teach all nations, and give corn to laboring men. So at 
Eleusis all men honor her, whosoever tills the land; her and Trip- 
tolemus her beloved, who gave corn to laboring men. 

And he went along the plain into Eleusis, and stood in the mar- 
ket-place, and cried — 

“ Where is Kerkuon, the king of the city? I must wrestle a fall 
with him today.” 

Then all the people crowded round him, and cried, “ Fair youth, 
why will you die? Hasten out of the city, before the cruel king 
hears that a stranger is here.” 

But Theseus went up through the town, while the people wept and 
prayed, and through the gates of the palace-yard, and through the 
piles of bones and skulls, till he came to the door of Kerkuon’s 
hall, the terror of all mortal men. 

And there he saw Kerkuon sitting at the table in the hall alone; 
and before him was a whole sheep roasted, and beside him a whole 
jar of wine. And Theseus stood and called him, “ Holla, thou 
valiant wrestler, wilt thou wrestle a fall today? ” 


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And Kerkuon looked up and laughed, and answered, “ I will 
wrestle a fall today; but come in, for I am lonely and thou weary, 
and eat and drink before thou die.” 

Then Theseus went up boldly, and sat down before Kerkuon at 
the board: and he ate his fill of the sheep’s flesh, and drank his fill of 
the wine; and Theseus ate enough for three men, but Kerkuon ate 
enough for seven. 

But neither spoke a word to the other, though they looked across 
the table by stealth; and each said in his heart, “He has broad 
shoulders; but I trust mine are as broad as his.” 

At last, when the sheep was eaten and the jar of wine drained 
dry, King Kerkuon rose, and cried, “ Let us wrestle a fall before we 
sleep.” 

So they tossed off all their garments, and went forth into the 
palace-yard, and Kerkuon bade strew fresh sand in an open space 
between the bones. And there the heroes stood face to face, while 
their eyes glared like wild bulls’; and all the people crowded at the 
gates, to see what would befall. 

And there they stood and wrestled, till the stars shone out above 
their heads; up and down and round, till the sand was stamped hard 
beneath their feet. And their eyes flashed like stars in the darkness, 
and their breath went up like smoke in the night air; but neither took 
nor gave a footstep, and the people watched silent at the gates. 

But at last Kerkuon grew angry, and caught Theseus round the 
neck, and shook him as a mastiff shakes a rat; but he could not shake 
him off his feet. 

But Theseus was quick and wary, and clasped Kerkuon round the 
waist, and slipped his loin quickly underneath him, while he caught 
him by the wrist; and then he hove a mighty heave, a heave which 
would have stirred an oak, and lifted Kerkuon, and pitched him, 
right over his shoulder on the ground. 

Then he leapt on him, and called, “ Yield, or I kill thee! ” but Ker- 
kuon said no word, for his heart was burst within him, with the 
fall, and the meat, and the wine. 

Then Theseus opened the gates, and called in all the people; and 
they cried, “ You have slain our evil king; be you now our king, and 
rule us well.” 

“ I will be your king in Eleusis, and I will rule you right and 
well; for this cause I have slain all evil-doers, Sinis, and Sciron, and 
this man last of all.” 

Then an aged man stepped forth, and said, “Young hero, Bast 


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thou slain Sinis? Beware then of ^geus, king of Athens, to whom 
thou goest, for he is near of kin to Sinis.” 

“ Then I have slain my own kinsman,” said Theseus, “ though well 
he deserved to die. Who will purge me from his death, for right- 
fully I slew him, unrighteous and accursed as he was? ” 

And the old man answered — 

“ That will the heroes do, the sons of Phytalus, who dwell beneath 
the elm tree in Aphidnai, by the bank of silver Cephisus; for they 
know the mysteries of the Gods. Thither you shall go and be puri- 
fied, and after you shall be our king.” 

So he took an oath of the people of Eleusis, that they would serve 
him as their king, and went away next morning across the Thriasian 
plain, and over the hills toward Aphidnai, that he might find the 
sons of Phytalus. 

And as he was skirting the Vale of Cephisus, along the foot of 
lofty Parnes, a very tall and strong man came down to meet him, 
dressed in rich garments. On his arms were golden bracelets, and 
round his neck a collar of jewels; and he came forward, bowing 
courteously, and held out both his hands, and spoke, — 

“Welcome, fair youth, to these mountains; happy am I to have 
met you! For what greater pleasure to a good man than to enter- 
tain strangers? But I see that you are weary. Come up to my 
castle, and rest yourself awhile.” 

“ I give you thanks,” said Theseus ; “ but I am in haste to go 
up the valley, and to reach Aphidnai, in the Vale of Cephisus.” 

“Alas! you have wandered far from the right way, and you can- 
not reach Aphidnai tonight; for there are many miles of mountain 
between you and it, and steep passes, and cliffs dangerous after 
nightfall. It is well for you that I met you; for my whole joy is to 
find strangers, and to feast them at my castle, and hear tales from 
them of foreign lands. Come up with me, and eat the best of ven- 
ison, and drink the rich red wine; and sleep upon my famous bed, 
of which all travelers say that they never saw the like. For what- 
soever the stature of my guest, however tall or short, that bed fits 
him to a hair, and he sleeps on it as he never slept before.” And he 
laid hold on Theseus’s hands, and would not let him go. 

Theseus wished to go forward's, but he was ashamed to seem 
churlish to so hospitable a man; and he was curious to see that 
wondrous bed ; and, besides, he was hungry and weary ; yet he shrank 
from the man, he knew not why; for though his voice was gentle 
and fawning, it was dry and husky like a toad’s; and though his 


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eyes were gentle, they were dull and cold like stones. But he con- 
sented, and went with the man up a glen which led from the 
road toward the peaks of Parnes, under the dark shadow of the 
cliffs. 

And as they went up, the glen grew narrower, and the cliffs higher 
and darker, and beneath them a torrent roared, half seen between 
bare limestone crags. And around them was neither tree nor bush, 
while from the white peaks of Parnes the snow-blasts swept down 
the glen, cutting and chilling, till a horror fell on Theseus as he 
looked round at that doleful place. And he asked at last, “ Your 
castle stands, it seems, in a dreary region.” 

“Yes; but once within it, hospitality makes all things cheerful. 
But who are these? ” and he looked back, and Theseus also; and 
far below along the road which they had left, came a string of laden 
asses, and merchants walking by them, watching their ware. 

“Ah, poor souls! ” said the stranger. “Well for them that I 
looked back and saw them! And well for me too, for I shall have 
the more guests at my feast. Wait awhile till I go down and call 
them, and we will eat and drink together the live-long night. Happy 
am I, to whom Heaven sends so many guests at once! ” 

And he ran back down the hill, waving his hand and shouting to 
the merchants, while Theseus went slowly up the steep pass. 

But as he went up he jnet an aged man, who had been gathering 
driftwood in the torrent-bed. He had laid down his fagot in the 
road, and was trying to lift it again to his shoulder. And when he 
saw Theseus, he called to him, and said — 

“ 0 fair youth, help me up with my burden, for my limbs are 
stiff and weak with years.” 

Then Theseus lifted the burden on his back. And the old man 
blest him, and then looked earnestly upon him, and said — 

“ Who are you, fair youth, and wherefore travel you this doleful 
road? ” 

“Who I am my parents know: but I travel this doleful road be- 
cause I have been invited by a hospitable man, who promises to 
feast me, and to make me sleep upon I know not what wondrous 
bed.” 

Then the old man clapped his hands together, and cried, — 

“ O house of Hades, man-devouring! will thy maw never be full? 
Know, fair youth, that you are going to torment and to death; for 
he who met you (I will requite your kindness by another) is a robber 
and a murderer of men. Whatsoever stranger he meets he entices 


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him hither to death; and as for this bed of which he speaks, truly it 
fits all comers, yet none ever rose alive off it save me.” 

“ Why? ” asked Theseus, astonished. 

“ Because, if a man be too tall for it, he lops his limbs till they be 
short enough, and if he be too short, he stretches his limbs till they 
be long enough: but me only he spared, seven weary years agone; 
for I alone of all fitted his bed exactly; so he spared me, and made 
me his slave. And once I was a wealthy merchant, and dwelt in 
brazen-gated Thebes; but now I hew wood and draw water for him, 
the torment of all mortal men.” 

Then Theseus said nothing; but he ground his teeth together. 

“ Escape then,” said the old man, 44 for he will have no pity on thy 
youth. But yesterday he brought up hither a young man and a 
maiden, and fitted them upon his bed: and the young man’s hands 
and feet he cut off; but the maiden’s limbs he stretched until she 
died, and so both perished miserably — but I am tired of weeping 
over the slain. And therefore he is called Procrustes the stretcher, 
though his father called him Damastes. Flee from him: yet whither 
will you flee? The cliff’s are steep, and who can climb them? and 
there is no other road.” 

But Theseus laid his hand upon the old man’s mouth, and said, 
44 There is no need to flee; ” and he turned to go down the pass. 

44 Do not tell him that I have warned you, or he will kill me by 
some evil death; ” and the old man screamed after him down the 
glen; but Theseus strode on in his wrath. 

And he said to himself, 44 This is an ill-ruled land; when shall I 
have done ridding it of monsters? ” And as he spoke, Procrustes 
came up the hill and all the merchants with him, smiling and talking 
gayly. And when he saw Theseus, he cried, 44 Ah, fair young guest, 
have I kept you too long waiting? ” 

But Theseus answered, 44 The man who stretches his guests upon 
a bed and hews off their hands and feet, what shall be done to him, 
when right is done throughout the land? ” 

Then Procrustes’ countenance changed, and his cheeks grew as 
green as a* lizard, and he felt for his sword in haste; but Theseus 
leapt on him, and cried — 

44 Is this true, my host, or is it false? ” and he clasped Procrustes 
round waist and elbow, so that he could not draw his sword. 

44 Is this true, my host, or is it false? ” But Procrustes answered 
never a word. 

Then Theseus flung him from him, and lifted up his dreadful 


Myths and Legends 299 

club; and, before Procrustes could strike him, he had struck, and 
felled him to the ground. 

And once again he struck him; and his evil soul fled forth, and 
went down to Hades squeaking, like a bat into the darkness of a 
cave. 

Then Theseus stript him of his gold ornaments, and went up to his 
house, and found there great wealth and treasure, which he had 
stolen from the passers-by. And he called the people of the coun- 
try, whom Procrustes had spoiled a long time, and parted the spoil 
among them, and went down the mountains, and away. 

And he went down the glens of Parnes, through mist, and cloud, 
and rain, down the slopes of oak, and lentisk, and arbutus, and fra- 
grant bay, till he came to the Vale of Cephisus, and the pleasant town 
of Aphidnai, and the home of the Phytalid heroes, where they dwelt 
beneath a mighty elm. 

And there they built an altar, and bade him bathe in Cephisus, 
and offer a yearling ram, and purified him from the blood of Sinis, 
and sent him away in peace. 

And he went down the valley by Acharnai, and by the silver- 
swirling stream, while all the people blessed him; for the fame of 
his prowess had spread wide, till he saw the plain of Athens, and 
the hill where Athene dwells. 

So Theseus went up through Athens, and all the people ran out 
to see him; for his fame had gone before him, and every one knew 
of his mighty deeds. And all cried, “ Here comes the hero who 
slew Sinis, and Phaia the wild sow of Crommyon, and conquered 
Kerkuon in wrestling, and slew Procrustes the pitiless.” But The- 
seus went on sadly and steadfastly, for his heart yearned after his 
father; and he said, “How shall I deliver him from these leeches 
who suck his blood? ” 

So he went up the holy stairs, and into the Acropolis, where 
/Egeus’ palace stood; and he went straight into /Egeus’ hall, and 
stood upon the threshold, and looked round. 

And there he saw his cousins sitting about the table at the wine: 
many a son of Pallas, but no /Egeus among them. There they sat 
and feasted, and laughed, and passed the wine-cup round; while 
harpers harped, and slave girls sang, and the tumblers showed their 
tricks. 

Loud laughed the sons of Pallas, and fast went the wine-cup round; 
but Theseus frowned, and said under his breath, “ No wonder that 
the land is full of robbers, while such as these bear rule.” 


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Then the Pallantids saw him, and called to him, half-drunk with 
wine, “ Holla, tall stranger at the door, what is your will today? ” 

“ I come hither to ask for hospitality.” 

44 Then take it, and welcome. You look like a hero and a bold 
warrior; and we like such to drink with us.” 

“ I ask no hospitality of you; I ask it of ^geus the king, the mas- 
ter of this house.” 

At that some growled, and some laughed, and shouted, 44 Heyday ! 
we are all masters here.” 

44 Then I am master as much as the rest of you,” said Theseus, and 
he strode past the table up the hall, and looked around for ^geus; 
but he was nowhere to be seen. 

The Pallantids looked at him, and then at each other; and each 
whispered to the man next him, 44 This is a forward fellow; he 
ought to be thrust out at the door.” But each man’s neighbor 
whispered in return, 44 His shoulders are broad ; will you rise and 
put him out? ” So they all sat still where they were. 

Then Theseus called to the servants, and said, 44 Go tell King 
/Egeus, your master, that Theseus of Trcezene is here, and asks to be 
his guest awhile.” 

A servant ran and told i^geus, where he sat in his chamber within, 
by Medeia the dark witch-woman, watching her eye and hand. And 
when /Egeus heard of Troezene, he turned pale and red again, and 
rose from his seat trembling, while Medeia watched him like a 
snake. 

44 What is Trcezene to you? ” she asked. But he said hastily, 44 Do 
you not know who this Theseus is? The hero who has cleared the 
country from all monsters; but that he came from Trcezene, I never 
heard before. I must go out and welcome him.” 

So /Egeus came out into the hall ; and when Theseus saw him, his 
heart leapt into his mouth, and he longed to fall on his neck and wel- 
come him; but he controlled himself, and said, 44 My father may not 
wish for me, after all. I will try him before I discover myself; ” 
and he bowed low before AEgeus, and said, 44 1 have delivered the 
king’s realm from many monsters; therefore I am come to ask a 
reward of the king.” 

And old ^geus looked on him, and loved him, as what fond heart 
would not have done? But he only sighed, and said, — 

44 It is little that I can give you, noble lad, and nothing that is 
worthy of you; for surely you are no mortal man, or at least no 
mortal’s son.” 


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Myths and Legends 

“ All that I ask,” said Theseus, “ is to eat and drink at your table.” 

“ That I can give you,” said /Egeus, “ if at least I am master in 
my own hall.” 

Then he bade them put a seat for Theseus, and set before him the 
best of the feast; and Theseus sat and ate so much, that all the 
company wondered at him: but always he kept his club by his 
side. 

But Medeia the dark witch-woman had been watching him all the 
while. She saw how iEgeus turned red and pale, when the lad said 
that he came from Trcezene. She saw, too, how his heart was opened 
toward Theseus; and how Theseus bore himself before all the sons 
of Pallas, like a lion among a pack of curs. And she said to her- 
self, “ This youth will be master here; perhaps he is nearer to 
^Egeus already than mere fancy. At least the Pallantids will have 
no chance by the side of such as* he.” 

Then she went back into her chamber modestly, while Theseus ate 
and drank; and all the servants whispered, 4u This, then, is the man 
who killed the monsters! How noble are his looks, and how huge 
his size. Ah, would that he were our master’s son.” 

But presently Medeia came forth, decked in all her jewels, and 
her rich Eastern robes, and looking more beautiful than the day; 
so that all the guests could look at nothing else. And in her right 
hand she held a golden cup, and in her left a flask of gold; and she 
came up to Theseus, and spoke in a sweet, soft, winning voice, — 

“ Hail to the hero, the conqueror, the unconquered, the destroyer 
of all evil things! Drink, hero, of my charmed cup, which gives 
rest after every toil, which heals all wounds, and pours new life 
into the veins. Drink of my cup, for in it sparkles the wine of the 
East, and Nepenthe, the comfort of the Immortals.” 

And as she spoke, she poured the flask into the cup; and the 
fragrance of the wine spread through the hall, like the scent of 
thyme and roses. 

And Theseus looked up in her fair face, and into her deep dark 
eyes. And as he looked, he shrank and shuddered; for they were 
dry like the eyes of a snake. And he rose and said, “ The wine is 
rich and fragrant, and the wine-bearer as fair as the Immortals; but 
let her pledge me first herself in the cup, that the wine may be 
the*sweeter from her lips.” 

Then Medeia turned pale, and stammered, 44 Forgive me, fair 
hero; but I am ill, and dare drink no wine.” 

And Theseus looked again into her eyes, and cried, 44 Thou shalt 


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pledge me in that cup, or die.” And he lifted up his brazen club, 
while all the guests looked on aghast. 

Medeia shrieked a fearful shriek, and dashed the cup to the 
ground, and fled; and where the wine flowed over the marble pave- 
ment the stone bubbled, and crumbled, and hissed, under the fierce 
venom of the draught. 

But Medeia called her dragon chariot, and sprang into it and fled 
aloft, away over land and sea; and no man saw her more. 

And /Egeus cried, “ What hast thou done? ” But Theseus pointed 
to the stone, — “ I have rid the land of an enchantment: now I will 
rid it of one more.” 

And he came close to /Egeus, and drew from his bosom the sword 
and the sandals, and said the words which his mother bade him. 

And /Egeus stepped back a pace, and looked at the lad till his 
eyes grew dim; and then he cast himself on his neck, and wept; 
and Theseus wept on his neck, till they had no strength left to 
weep more. 

Then iT]geus turned to all the people, and cried, “ Behold my son, 
children of Kecrops, a better man than his father was before him.” 

Who then were mad but the Pallantids, though they had been 
mad enough before? And one shouted, “ Shall we make room for 
an upstart, a pretender, who comes from we know not where? ” 
And another, “ If he be one, we are more than one; and the stronger 
can hold his own.” And one shouted one thing, and one another, 
for they were hot and wild with wine; but all caught swords and 
lances off the wall, where the weapons hung around, and sprang for- 
ward to Theseus; and Theseus sprang forward to them. 

And he cried, “ Go in peace, if you will, my cousins; but if not, 
your blood be on your own heads.” But they rushed at him; and 
then stopped short and railed him, as curs stop and bark when they 
rouse a lion from his lair. 

But one hurled a lance from the rear rank, which past close by 
Theseus’ head; and at that Theseus rushed forward, and the fight 
began indeed. Twenty against one they fought, and yet Theseus 
beat them all; and those who were left fled down into the town, 
where the people set on them, and drove them out, till Theseus was 
left alone in the palace, with AEgeus his new-found father. But 
before nightfall all the town came up, with victims, and dances, and 
songs; and they offered sacrifices to Athene, and rejoiced all the 
night long, because their king had found a noble son, and an heir to 
his royal house. 


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Myths and Legends 

So Theseus stayed with his father all the winter; and when the 
spring equinox drew near, all the Athenians grew sad and silent, and 
Theseus saw it, and asked the reason; but no one would answer 
him a word. 

Then he went to his father, and asked him: but /Egeus turned 
away his face and wept. 

“ Do not ask, my son, beforehand, about evils which must happen : 
it is enough to have to face them when they come.” 

And when the spring equinox came, a herald came to Athens, and 
stood in the market, and cried, “ 0 people and King of Athens, where 
is your yearly tribute? ” Then a great lamentation arose through- 
out the city. But Theseus stood up to the herald, and cried, — 

44 And who are you, dog-faced, who dare demand tribute here? 
If I did not reverence your herald’s staff, I would brain you with this 
club.” 

And the herald answered proudly, for he was a grave and ancient 
man, — 

44 Fair youth, I am not dog-faced or shameless; but I do my mas- 
ter’s bidding, Minos the King of hundred-citied Crete, the wisest 
of all kings on earth. And you must be surely a stranger here, or 
you would know why I come, and that I come by right.” 

44 1 am a stranger here. Tell me, then, why you come.” 

44 To fetch the tribute which King ^Egeus promised to Minos, and 
confirmed his promise with an oath. For Minos conquered all this 
land, and Megara which lies to the east, when he came hither with 
a great fleet of ships, enraged about the murder of his son. For his 
son Androgeos came hither to the Panathenaic games, and over- 
came all the Greeks in the sports, so that the people honored him as 
a hero. But when /Egeus saw his valor, he envied him, and feared 
lest he should join the sons of Pallas, and take away the scepter from 
him. So he plotted against his life, and slew him basely, no man 
knows how or where. Some say that he waylaid him by (Enoe, on 
the road which goes to Thebes; and some that he sent him against 
the bull of Marathon, that the beast might kill him. But ^geus says 
that the young men killed him from envy, because he had conquered 
them in the games. So Minos came hither and avenged him, and 
would not depart till this land had promised him tribute, seven 
youths and seven maidens every year, who go with me in a black- 
sailed ship, till they come to hundred-citied Crete.” 

And Theseus ground his teeth together, and said, 44 Wert thou not 
a herald I would kill thee, for saying such things of my father; 


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but I will go to him, and know the truth.” So he went to his father, 
and asked him; but he turned away his head and wept, and said, 
“ Blood was shed in the land unjustly, and by blood it is avenged. 
Break not my heart by questions; it is enough to endure in silence.” 

Then Theseus groaned inwardly, and said, “ I will go myself 
with these youths and maidens, and kill Minos upon his royal 
throne.” 

And AEgeus shrieked, and cried, “ You shall not go, my son, the 
light of my old age, to whom alone I look to rule this people, after 
I am dead and gone. You shall not go, to die horribly, as those 
youths and maidens die; for Minos thrusts them into a labyrinth, 
which Daidalos made for him among the rocks, — Daidalos the 
renegade, the accursed, the pest of this his native land. From that 
labyrinth no one can escape, entangled in its winding ways, before 
they meet the Minotaur, the monster, who feeds upon the flesh of 
men. • There he devours them horribly, and they never see this land 
again.” 

Then Theseus grew red, and his ears tingled, and his heart beat 
loud in his bosom. And he stood awhile like a tall stone pillar on 
the cliffs above some hero’s grave; and at last he spoke, — 

“ Therefore all the more I will go with them, and slay the 
accursed beast. Have I not slain all evil-doers and monsters, that 
I might free this land? Where are Periphetes, and Sinis, and Ker- 
kuon, and Phaia the wild sow? Where are the fifty sons of Pallas? 
And this Minotaur shall go on the road which they have gone; and 
Minos himself, if he dare stay me.” 

“ But how will you slay him, my son? For you must leave your 
club and your armor behind, and be cast to the monster, defenseless 
and naked like the rest.” 

And Theseus said: “Are there no stones in that labyrinth; and 
have I not fists and teeth? Did I need my club to kill Kerkuon, the 
terror of all mortal men? ” 

Then ^Egeus clung to his knees, but he would not hear : and at last 
he let him go, weeping bitterly, and said only this one word, — 

“ Promise me but this, if you return in peace, though that may 
hardly be: take down the black sail of the ship (for I shall watch 
for it all day upon the cliffs) and hoist instead a white sail, that 
I may know afar off that you are safe.” 

And Theseus promised, and went out, and to the market-place 
where the herald stood, while they drew lots for the youths and 
maidens who were to sail in that doleful crew. And the people stood 


Myths and Legends 305 

wailing and weeping, as the lot fell on this one and on that; but The- 
seus strode into the midst, and cried, — 

“ Here is a youth who needs no lot. I myself will be one of the 
seven.” 

And the herald asked in wonder, 44 Fair youth, know you whither 
you are going? ” 

And Theseus said, “ I know. Let us go down to the black-sailed 
ship.” 

So they went down to the black-sailed ship, seven maidens and 
seven youths, and Theseus before them all, and the people follow- 
ing them lamenting. But Theseus whispered to his companions, 
44 Have hope, for the monster is not immortal. Where are Peri- 
phetes, and Sinis, and Sciron* and all whom I have slain? ” Then 
their hearts were comforted a little; but they wept as they went 
on board, and the cliffs of Sunium rang, and all the isles of the 
ZEgean Sea, with the voice of their lamentation, as they sailed on 
toward their deaths in Crete. 

PART III 

HOW THESEUS SLEW THE MINOTAUR 

And at last they came to Crete, and to Cnossus, beneath the peaks 
of Ida, and to the palace of Minos the great king, to whom Zeus 
himself taught laws. So he was the wisest of all mortal kings, 
and conquered all the ZEgean isles; and his ships were as many 
as the sea-gulls, and his palace like a marble hill. And he sat among 
the pillars of the hall, upon his throne of beaten gold, and around 
him stood the speaking statues which Daidalos had made by his 
skill. For Daidalos was the most cunning of all Athenians, and he 
first invented the plumb-line, and the auger, and glue, and many a 
tool with which wood is wrought. And he first set up masts in 
ships, and yards, and his son made sails for them: but Perdix his 
nephew excelled him; for he first invented the saw and its teeth, 
copying it from the back-bone of a fish; and invented, too, the 
chisel, and the compasses, and the potter’s wheel which molds the 
clay. Therefore Daidalos envied him, and hurled him headlong 
from the temple of Athene; but the Goddess pitied him (for she loves 
the wise) and changed him into a partridge, which flits forever about 
the hills. And Daidalos fled to Crete, to Minos, and worked for 
him many a year, till he did a shameful deed, at which the sun hid 
his face on high. 


30 G 


Types of Childrens Literature 

Then he fled from the anger of Minos, — he and Icarus, his son, 
haying made themselves wings of feathers, and fixed the feathers 
with wax. So they flew over the sea toward Sicily; but Icarus flew 
too near the sun; and the wax of his wings was melted, and he fell 
into the Icarian Sea. But Daidalos came safe to Sicily, and there 
wrought many a wondrous work: for he made for King Cocalus a 
reservoir, from which a great river watered all the land, and a castle 
and a treasury on a mountain, which the giants themselves could not 
have stormed ; and in Selinos he took the steam which comes up from 
the fires of ^Etna and made of it a warm bath of vapor, to cure the 
pains of mortal men; and he made a honeycomb of gold, in which 
the bees came and stored their honey; and in Egypt he made the 
fore-court of the temple of Hephaistus, in Memphis, and a statue of 
himself within it, and many another wondrous work. And for Minos 
he made statues which spoke and moved, and the temple of Brito- 
martis, and the dancing-hall of Ariadne, which he carved of fair 
white stone. And in Sardinia he worked for Iolaos; and in many 
a land beside, wandering up and down forever with his cunning, 
unlovely and accursed by men. 

But Theseus stood before Minos, and they looked each other in 
the face. And Minos bade take them to prison, and cast them to the 
monster one by one, that the death of Androgeos might be avenged. 
Then Theseus cried — 

“A boon, 0 Minos! Let me be thrown first to the beast. For 
I came hither for that very purpose, of my own will, and not by lot.” 

“Who art thou, then, brave youth? ” 

“ I am the son of him whom of all men thou hatest most, ^geus 
the king of Athens, and I am come here to end this matter.” 

And Minos pondered awhile, looking steadfastly at him, and he 
thought, “ The lad means to atone by his own death for his father’s 
sin; ” and he answered at last mildly — 

“ Go back in peace, my son. It is a pity that one so brave should 
die.” 

But Theseus said, “ I have sworn that I will not go back till I 
have seen the monster face to face.” 

And at that Minos frowned, and said, “Then thou shalt see 
him; take the madman away.” 

And they led Theseus away into the prison, with the other youths 
and maids. 

But Ariadne, Minos’s daughter, saw him, as she came out of her 
white stone hall; and she loved him for his courage and his majesty, 


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Myths and Legends 

and said, “Shame that such a youth should die! ” And by night 
she went down to the prison, and told him all her heart, and said, — 

“ Flee down to your ship at once, for I have bribed the guards 
before the door. Flee, you and all your friends, and go back in 
peace to Greece ; and take me, take me with you ! for I dare not stay 
after you are gone; for my father will kill me miserably, if he 
knows what I have done.” 

And Theseus stood silent awhile; for he was astonished and con- 
founded by her beauty: but at last he said, “I cannot go home in 
peace, till I have seen and slain this Minotaur, and avenged the 
deaths of the youths and maidens, and put an end to the terrors of 
my land.” 

“ And will you kill the Minotaur? How, then? ” 

“ I know not, nor do I care : but he must be strong if he be too 
strong for me.” 

Then she loved him all the more, and said, “ But when you have 
killed him, how will you find your way out of the labyrinth? ” 

“ I know not, neither do I care : but it must be a strange road, 
if I do dot find it out before I have eaten up the monster’s carcase.” 

Then she loved him all the more, and said, — 

u Fair youth, you are too bold; but I can help you, weak as I am. 
I will give you a sword, and with that, perhaps, you may slay the 
beast; and a clue of thread, and by that, perhaps, you may find your 
way out again. Only promise me, that if you escape safe, you will 
take me home with you to Greece; for my father will surely kill me, 
if he knows what I have done.” 

Then Theseus laughed, and said, “Am I not safe enough now? ” 
And he hid the sword in his bosom, and rolled up the clue in his 
hand; and then he swore to Ariadne, and fell down before her, 
and kissed her hands and her feet; and she wept over him a long 
while, and then went away; and Theseus lay down and slept sweetly. 

And when the evening came, the guards came in and led him away 
to the labyrinth. 

And he went down into that doleful gulf, through winding paths 
among the rocks, under caverns, and arches, and galleries, and over 
heaps of fallen stone. And he turned on the left hand, and on the 
right hand, and went up and down till his head was dizzy; but all the 
while he held his clue. For when he went in he had fastened it to 
a stone, and left it to unroll out of his hand as he went on; and it 
lasted him till he met the Minotaur, in a narrow chasm between 
black cliffs. 


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And when he saw him he stopped awhile, for he had never seen 
so strange a beast. His body was a man’s: but his head was the head 
of a bull ; and his teeth were the teeth of a lion, and with them he tore 
his prey. And when he saw Theseus he roared, and put his head 
down, and rushed right at him. 

But Theseus stept aside nimbly, and as he passed by, cut him in 
the knee; and ere he could turn in the narrow path, he followed 
him, and stabbed him again and again from behind, till the monster 
fled bellowing wildly; for he never before had felt a wound. And 
Theseus followed him at full speed, holding the clue of thread in his 
left hand. 

Then on, through cavern after cavern, under dark ribs of sounding 
stone, and up rough glens and torrent-beds, among the sunless roots 
of Ida, and to the edge of the eternal snow, went they, the hunter and 
hunted, while the hills bellowed to the monster’s bellow. 

And at last Theseus came up with him, where he lay panting on 
a slab among the snow, and caught him by the horns, and forced 
his head back, and drove the keen sword through his throat. 

Then he turned, and went back limping and weary, feeling his 
way down by the clue of thread, till he came to the mouth of that 
doleful place; and saw waiting for him, whom but Ariadne! 

And he whispered, “ It is done ! ” and showed her the sword ; and 
she laid her finger on her lips, and led him to the prison, and opened 
the doors, and set all the prisoners free, while the guards lay sleeping 
heavily; for she had silenced them with wine. 

Then they fled to their ship together, and leapt on board, and 
hoisted up the sail; and the night lay dark around them, so that 
they past through Minos’s ships, and escaped all safe to Naxos; and 
there Ariadne became Theseus’s wife. 

PART IV 

HOW THESEUS FELL BY HIS PRIDE 

But that fair Ariadne never came to Athens with her husband. 
Some say that Theseus left her sleeping on Naxos among the 
Cyclades; and that Dionusos the wine-king found her, and took her 
up into the sky, as you shall see some day in a painting of old 
Titian’s, one of the most glorious pictures upon earth. And some 
say that Dionusos drove away Theseus, and took Ariadne from him 
by force: but however that may be, in his haste or in his grief, 
Theseus forgot to put up the white sail. Now ^geus his father 


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Myths and Legends 

sat and watched on Sunium day after day, and strained his old eyes 
across the sea to see the ship afar. And when he saw the black 
sail, and not the white one, he gave up Theseus for dead, and in 
his grief he fell into the sea, and died; so it is called the TEgean 
to this day. 

And now Theseus was king of Athens, and he guarded it and 
ruled it well. 

For he killed the bull of Marathon, which had killed Androgeos, 
Minos’s son; and he drove back the famous Amazons, the warlike 
women of the East, when they came from Asia, and conquered all 
Hellas, and broke into Athens itself. But Theseus stopped them 
there, and conquered them, and took Hippolyte their queen to be 
his wife. Then he went out to fight against the Lapithai, and Peiri- 
thoos their famous king: but when the two heroes came face to face 
they loved each other, and embraced, and became noble friends; 
so that the friendship of Theseus and Peirithoos is a proverb even 
now. And he gathered (so the Athenians say) all the boroughs 
of the land together, and knit them into one strong people, while 
before they were all parted and weak: and many another wise thing 
he did, so that his people honored him after he was dead, for many 
a hundred years, as the father of their freedom and their laws. 
And six hundred years after his death, in the famous fight at Mara- 
thon, men said that they saw the ghost of Theseus, with his mighty 
brazen club, fighting in the van of battle against the invading Per- 
sians, for the country which he loved. And twenty years after 
Marathon, his bones (they say) were found in Scuros, an isle 
beyond the sea; and they were bigger than the bones of mortal man 
So the Athenians brought them home in triumph; and all (he people 
came out to welcome them; and they built over them a noble temple, 
and adorned it with sculptures and paintings; in which were told 
all the noble deeds of Theseus, and the Centaurs, and the Lapithai 
and the Amazons; and the ruins of it are standing still. 

But why did they find his bones in Scuros? Why did he not 
die in peace at Athens, and sleep by his father’s side? Because, 
after his triumph he grew proud, and broke the laws of God and 
man. And one thing worst of all he did, which brought him to his 
grave with sorrow. For he went down (they say beneath the earth) 
with that bold Peirithoos his friend, to help him to carry off Per- 
sephone, the queen of the world below. But Peirithoos was killed 
miserably, in the dark fire-kingdoms underground; and Theseus was 
chained to a rock in everlasting pain. And there he sat for years, 


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Types of Childrens Literature 

till Heracles the mighty came down to bring up the three-headed 
dog who sits at Pluto’s gate. So Heracles loosed him from his chain, 
and brought him up to the light once more. 

But when he came back his people had forgotten him, and Castor 
and Poludeuces, the sons of the wondrous Swan, had invaded his 
land, and carried off his mother Aithra for a slave, in revenge for 
a grievous wrong. 

So the fair land of Athens was wasted, and another king ruled it, 
who drove out Theseus shamefully, and he fled across the sea to 
Scuros. And there he lived in sadness, in the house of Lucomedes 
the king, till Lucomedes killed him by treachery, and there was an 
end of all his labors. 

So it is still, my children, and so it will be to the end. In those 
old Greeks, and in us also, all strength and virtue come from God. 
But if men grow proud and self-willed, and misuse God’s fair gifts, 
He lets them go their own ways, and fall pitifully, that the glory 
may be His alone. God help us all, and give us wisdom, and 
courage to do noble deeds! but God keep pride from us when we 
have done them, lest we fall, and come to shame! 


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Myths and Legends 

©ecmantc 

THOR GOES A-FISHING 1 
Hamilton Wright Mabie 

Midway between Niflheim and Muspelheim lay Midgard, the home 
of men, its round disk everywhere encircled by the ocean, which per- 
petually rushed upon it, gently in still summer afternoons, but with 
a terrible uproar in winter. Ages ago, when the Midgard-serpent 
had grown so vast that even the gods were afraid of him, Odin cast 
him into the sea, and he lay flat at the bottom of the ocean, grown 
to such monstrous size that his scaly length encircled the whole 
world. Holding the end of his tail in his mouth, he sometimes lay 
motionless for weeks at a time, and looking across the water no one 
would have dreamed that such a monster was asleep in its depths. 
But when the Midgard-serpent was aroused his wrath was terrible 
to behold. He lashed the ocean into great sheets of foam, he piled 
the waves mountain high, he dashed the spray into the. very heavens, 
and woe to the galleys that were sailing homeward. 

It happened once that the gods were feasting with /Eger, the 
sea-god, and the ale gave out, and /Eger had no kettle in which to 
brew a new supply. 

“ Thor,” said /Eger, after he had thought a moment, “ will you 
get me a kettle? ” 

Thor was always ready for any hard or dangerous thing. 

“ Of course I will,” was his quick reply, 44 only tell me where 
to get one.” 

That, however, was no easy thing to do. Kettles big enough to 
brew ale for Asgard were not to be picked up at a moment’s notice. 
Everybody wanted more ale, but nobody could tell Thor where to 
find a kettle, until Tyr, the god of courage, spoke up: 44 East of 
the river Elivagar lives my father, Hymer, who has a kettle mar- 
velously strong and one mile deep.” 

That was large enough even for the gods. 

44 Do you think we can get it? ” asked Thor, who always wanted 
to succeed in his undertakings. 

44 If we cannot get it by force, we can by stratagem,” answered 
Tyr, and they started off at once, Thor taking the disguise of a 
young man. The goats drew them swiftly to Egil, with whom Thor 

1 From Norse Stories , Retold from Eddas. Copyright. 1900, 1901, by Dodd 
Mead & Co., New York. Used by permission of the publishers. 


312 


Types of Childrens Literature 

left them while he and Tyr pushed on to finish the journey afoot. 
It was rough and perilous traveling, but they reached Hymer’s hall 
without accident, and there Tyr found his grandmother, a frightfully 
ugly giantess, and his mother, a wonderfully beautiful woman, with 
fair hair, and a face so radiant that the sun seemed to be always 
shining upon it. The latter advised them to hide under the great 
kettles in the hall, because when Hymer came home in bad temper 
he was sometimes cruel to strangers. 

Late in the evening Hymer came home from his fishing. A cold 
wind swept through the hall as he entered, his eyes were piercing 
as the stars on a winter’s night, and his beard was white with frost. 

“I welcome you home,” said Tyr’s beautiful mother; “our son, 
for whom we have been looking so long, has come home, bringing 
with him the enemy of giants and the protector of Asgard. See how 
they hide themselves behind that pillar yonder.” 

She pointed to a pillar at the farther end of the hall. Hymer 
turned, and looked at it with his piercing, icy glance, and in an 
instant it snapped into a thousand pieces; the beam overhead broke, 
and eight kettles fell with a crash on the stone floor. Only one out 
of the eight remained unbroken, and from it Thor and Tyr came 
forth. Hymer was not glad to see Thor standing there under his 
own roof, but he could not turn him out, so he made the best of it 
and ordered three oxen to be served for supper. Thor had traveled 
a long distance and was very hungry, and ate two of the oxen before 
he was satisfied. 

“ If you eat like that,” said Hymer, “ we will have to live on fish 
tomorrow.” 

Early the next morning, before the sun was up, Thor heard Hymer 
getting ready for a day of fishing. He dressed himself quickly and 
went out to the giant. “ Good morning, Hymer,” he said pleas- 
antly. “ I am fond of fishing; let me row out to sea with you.” 

“ Oho,” answered the giant scornfully, not at all pleased with the 
idea of having his powerful enemy in the boat with him, “ such a 
puny young fellow can be of no use to me, and if I go as far out to 
sea as I generally do, and stay as long, you will catch a cold that 
will be the death of you.” 

Thor was so angry at this insult that he wanted to let his hammer 
ring on the giant’s head, but he wisely kept his temper. 

“ I will row as far from the land as you care to go,” was his 
answer, “ and it is by no means certain that I shall be the first to 
want to put in again. What do you bait with? ” 


313 


Myths and Legends 

“ Find a bait for yourself,” was the giant’s surly reply. 

Thor ran up to a herd of Hymer’s cattle, seized the largest bull, 
wrung off its head without any trouble, and put it in the boat. Then 
they both pushed off and were soon rowing seaward. Hymer could 
pull a strong oar, but he had never seen such a stroke as Thor’s 
before. The boat fairly trembled under the force of it. In a few 
moments they reached Hymer’s fishing-ground, and he called out 
to Thor to stop. 

“ Oh, no, not yet,” said Thor, bending steadily over his oars; “ we 
must go a good distance beyond this.” 

Thor pulled with such tremendous power that they were soon far 
out to sea, and Hymer began to be frightened. “ If you don’t stop,” 
he called out, “ we shall be over the Midgard-serpent.” 

Thor paid no attention, but rowed on until they were far out of 
sight of land and about where he thought the great snake was coiled 
in the bottom of the sea; then he laid down the oars, as fresh and 
strong apparently as when he got into the boat. It was the strangest 
fishing party the world ever saw, and the most wonderful fishing. 
No sooner had Hymer’s bait touched the water than it was seized 
by two whales. Thor smiled quietly at the giant’s luck, took out 
a fishing-line, made with wonderful skill, and so strong that it could 
not be broken, fastened the bull’s head upon the hook and cast it 
into the sea. The Midgard-serpent instantly seized it, and in a 
second the hook was fast in its palate. Then came a furious struggle 
between the strong god and the terrible monster which was the dread 
of the whole earth. 

Stung by the pain, the serpent writhed and pulled so hard that 
Thor had to brace himself against the side of the boat. When he 
found that the snake had taken his hook his wrath rose, and his 
divine strength came upon him. He pulled the line with such 
tremendous force that his feet went straight through the bottom of 
the boat, and he stood on the bed of the ocean while he drew the 
snake up to the side of the boat. The monster, convulsed with pain, 
reared its terrible head out of the water, its glittering eyes flashing, 
its whole vast body writhing and churning the ocean into a whirlpool 
of eddying foam. Thor’s eyes blazed with wrath, and he held the 
serpent in a grasp like a vise. The uproar was like a terrible 
storm, and the boat, the fishers, and the snake were hidden by 
columns of foam that rose in the air. No one can tell what the end 
would have been if Hymer, trembling with fright and seeing the 
boat about to sink, had not sprung forward and cut the line just as 


314 Types of Childrens Literature 

Thor was raising his hammer to crush the serpent’s head. The 
snake sank at once to the bottom of the sea, and Thor, turning upon 
the giant, struck him such a blow under the ear that he fell head- 
long into the water. The giant got back to the boat, however, and 
they rowed to land, taking the two whales with them. 

When they reached shore Thor was still filled with rage at the 
meddlesome giant, because he had lost him the serpent, but he 
quietly picked up the boat and carried it home, Hymer taking the 
whales. Once more under his own roof, the giant’s courage re- 
turned, and he challenged Thor to show his strength by breaking 
his drinking-cup. Thor sat down and, taking the cup, hurled it 
against a pillar. It flew through the air, crashed against the stone, 
bounded back, and was picked up as whole and perfect as when it 
came into Thor’s hands. He was puzzled, but Tyr’s beautiful 
fair-haired mother whispered to him, “ Throw it at Hymer’s fore- 
head; it is harder than any drinking-cup.” 

Thor drew in all his godlike strength and dashed the cup with a 
terrific effort at Hymer. The forehead was unharmed, but the cup 
was scattered in a thousand pieces over the floor. Hymer had lost a 
great treasure by the experiment, but he only said, 44 That drink was 
too hot. Perhaps you will take the kettle off now,” he added with 
a sneer. 

Tyr immediately laid hands on the kettle, but he could not move 
it an inch. Then Thor took the great pot in his hands and drew 
it up with such a mighty effort that hi§ feet went through the 
stone floor of the hall, but he lifted it and, placing it on his head 
like a mighty helmet, walked off, the rings of the kettle clanging 
about his feet. The two gods walked swiftly away from the hall 
where so many troubles and labors had awaited them, and it was 
a long time before Thor turned to look back. When he did, it 
was not a moment too soon, for Hymer was close behind, with a 
multitude of many-headed giants, in hot pursuit. 

In one minute Thor had lifted the kettle off his head and put it 
on the ground, in another he was swinging the hammer among the 
giants, and in another, when the lightnings had gone out and the 
thunder had died in awful echoes among the hills, Tyr and Thor 
were alone on the field. 

They went on to Egil, mounted the chariot and drove the goats 
swiftly on to /Eger’s, where the gods were impatiently waiting for 
the kettle. There was straightway a mighty brewing of ale, Thor 
told the story of his adventures in search of the kettle, and the feast 
went merrily on. 


315 


Myths and Legends 
BALDUR 

Annie and Eliza Keary 
PART I 

THE DREAM 

Upon a summer’s afternoon it happened that Baldur the Bright 
and Bold, beloved of men and ^Esir, found himself alone in his 
palace of Broadblink. Thor was walking low down among the 
valleys, his brow heavy with summer heat; Frey and Gerda sported 
on still waters in their cloud-leaf ship; Odin, for once, slept on the 
top of Air Throne; a noonday stillness pervaded the whole earth; 
and Baldur in Broadblink, the wide-glancing, most sunlit of palaces, 
dreamed a dream. 

The dream of Baldur was troubled. He knew not whence nor 
why; but when he awoke he found that a new and weighty care was 
within him. It was so heavy that Baldur could scarcely carry it, 
and yet he pressed it closely to his heart and said, “ Lie there, and 
do not fall on any one but me.” Then he rose up and walked out 
from the splendor of his hall, that he might seek his own mother, 
Frigga, and tell her what had happened to him. He found her in 
her crystal saloon, calm and kind, waiting to listen, and ready to 
sympathize; so he walked up to her, his hands pressed closely on 
his heart, and lay down at her feet, sighing. 

“ What is the matter, dear Baldur? ” asked Frigga, gently. 

“ I do not know, mother,” answered he. “ I do not know what 
the matter is; but I have a shadow in my heart.” 

“ Take it out, then, my son, and let me look at it,” replied Frigga. 

“ But I fear, mother, that if I do it will cover the whole earth.” 

Then Frigga laid her hand upon the heart of her son that she 
might feel the shadow’s shape. Her brow became clouded as she 
felt it; her parted lips grew pale, and she cried out, “Oh! Baldur, 
my beloved son! the shadow is the shadow of death! ” 

Then said Baldur, “ I will die bravely, my mother.” 

But Frigga answered, “You shall not die at all; for I will not 
sleep tonight until everything on earth has sworn to me that it will 
neither kill nor harm you.” 

So Frigga stood up, and called to her everything on earth that had 
power to hurt or slay. First she called all metals to her; and heavy 
iron-ore came lumbering up the hill into the crystal hall, brass and 


316 Types of Children s Literature 

gold, copper, silver, lead, and steel, and stood before the Queen, 
who lifted her right hand high in the air, saying, “ Swear to me 
that you will not injure Baldur and they all swore, and went. 
Then she called to her all stones; and huge granite came, with 
crumbling sandstones and white lime, and the round, smooth stones 
of the seashore, and Frigga raised her arm, saying, “Swear that 
you will not injure Baldur”; and they swore, and went. Then 
Frigga called to her the trees; and wide-spreading oak trees, with 
tall ash and somber firs, came rushing up the hill, and Frigga raised 
her hand, and said, “Swear that you will not hurt Baldur”; and 
they said, “ We swear,” and went. After this Frigga called to her 
the diseases, who came blown by poisonous winds on wings of pain, 
and to the sound of moaning. Frigga said to them, “ Swear ”; and 
they sighed, “ We swear,” then flew away. Then Frigga called to 
her all beasts, birds, and venomous snakes, who came to her and 
swore, and disappeared. After this she stretched out her hand to 
Baldur, whilst a smile spread over her face, saying, “ And now, my 
son, you cannot die.” 

But just then Odin came in, and when he had heard from Frigga 
the whole story, he looked even more mournful than she had done; 
neither did the cloud pass from his face when he was told of the 
oaths that had been taken. 

“ Why do you still look so grave, my lord? ” demanded Frigga 
at last. “ Baldur cannot now die.” 

But Odin asked very gravely, “ Is the shadow gone out of our 
son’s heart, or is it still there? ” 

“ It cannot be there,” said Frigga, turning away her head reso- 
lutely, and folding her hands before her. 

But Odin looked at Baldur, and saw how it was, the hands 
pressed to the heavy heart, the beautiful brow grown dim. Then im- 
mediately he rose, saddled Sleipnir, his eight-footed steed, mounted 
him, and, turning to Frigga said, “ I know of a dead Vala, Frigga, 
who, when she was alive, could tell what was going to happen; her 
grave lies on the east side of Helheim, and I am going there to 
awake her, and ask whether any terrible grief is really coming 
upon us.” 

So saying, Odin shook the bridle in his hand, and the Eight-footed, 
with a bound, leaped forth, rushed like a whirlwind down the moun- 
tain of Asgard, and then dashed into a narrow defile between rocks. 

Sleipnir went on through the defile a long way, until he came 
to a place where the earth opened her mouth. There Odin rode in 


317 


Myths and Legends 

and down a broad, steep, slanting road which led him to the cavern 
Gnipa, and the mouth of the cavern Gnipa yawned upon Niflheim. 
Then thought Odin to himself, “ My journey is already done.” 
But just as Sleipnir was about to leap through the jaws of the pit, 
Garm, the voracious dog who was chained to the rock, sprang for- 
ward, and tried to fasten himself upon Odin. Three times Odin 
shook him off, and still Garm, as fierce as ever, went on with the 
fight. At last Sleipnir leaped, and Odin thrust just at the same 
moment; then horse and rider cleared the entrance, and turned 
eastward towards the dead Vala’s grave, dripping blood along the 
road as they went; while the beaten Garm stood baying in the 
cavern’s mouth. 

When Odin came to the grave he got off his horse, and stood with 
his face northward, looking through barred inclosures into the city 
of Helheim itself. The servants of Hela were very busy there mak- 
ing preparations for some new guest — hanging gilded couches with 
curtains of anguish and splendid misery upon the walls. Then 
Odin’s heart died within him, and he began to repeat mournful runes 
in a low tone to himself. 

The dead Vala turned heavily in her grave at the sound of his 
voice, and, as he went on, sat bolt upright. “ What man is this,” she 
asked, “who dares disturb my sleep? ” 

Then Odin, for the first time in his life, said what was not true; 
the shadow of Baldur dead fell upon his lips, and he made answer, 
“ My name is Vegtam, the son of Valtam.” 

“And what do you want from me? ” asked the Vala. 

“ I want to know,” replied Odin, “ for whom Hela is making ready 
that gilded couch in Helheim? ” 

“ That is for Baldur the Beloved,” answered the dead Vala. 
“ Now go away and let me sleep again, for my eyes are heavy.” 

But Odin said: “Only one word more. Is Baldur going to 
Helheim? ” 

“Yes, I’ve told you that he is,” answered the Vala. 

“Will he never come back to Asgard again? ” 

“If everything on earth should weep for him,” answered she, 
“ he will go back; if not, he will remain in Helheim.” 

Then Odin covered his face with his hands and looked into 
darkness. 

“ Do go away,” said the Vala, “ I’m so sleepy; I cannot keep my 
eyes open any longer.” 

But Odin raised his head and said again : “ Only tell me this one 


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thing. Just now, as I looked into darkness, it seemed to me as if 
I saw one on earth who would not weep for Baldur. Who was it? ” 

At this the Vala grew very angry and said: “ How couldst thou 
see in darkness? I know of only one who, by giving away his eye, 
gained light. No Vegtam art thou, but Odin, chief of men.” 

At her angry words Odin became angry, too, and called out as 
loudly as ever he could, “ No Vala art thou, nor wise woman, but 
rather the mother of three giants! ” 

“Go, go! ” answered the Vala, falling back in her grave; “no 
man shall waken me again until Loki have burst his chains and 
Ragnarok be come.” After this Odin mounted the Eight-footed 
once more and rode thoughtfully towards home. 

PART II 

THE PEACESTEAD 

When Odin came back to Asgard, Hermod took the bridle from 
his father’s hand and told him that the rest of the /Esir were gone 
to the Peacestead — a broad, green plain which lay just outside 
the city. This was the playground of the /Esir, where they prac- 
ticed trials of skill one with another, and held tournaments and 
sham fights. These last were always conducted in the gentlest and 
most honorable manner; for the strongest law of the Peacestead was, 
that no angry blow should be struck, or spiteful word spoken, 
upon the sacred field; and for this reason some have thought it 
might be well if children also had a Peacestead to play in. 

Odin was too much tired by his journey from Helheim to go to 
the Peacestead that afternoon; so he turned away and shut himself 
up in his palace of Gladsheim. But when he was gone, Loki came 
into the city by another way, and hearing from Hermod where the 
/Esir were, set off to join them. 

When he got to the Peacestead, Loki found that the TEsir were 
standing round in a circle shooting at something, and he peeped 
between the shoulders of two of them to find out- what it was. To 
his surprise he saw Baldur standing in the midst, erect and calm, 
whilst his friends and brothers were aiming their weapons at him. 
Some hewed at him with their swords, — others threw stones at him, 
— some shot arrows pointed with steel, and Thor continually swung 
Miolnir at his head. “ Well,” said Loki to himself, “ if this is the 
sport of Asgard, what must that of Jotunheim be? I wonder what 
Father Odin and Mother Frigga would say if they were here? ” 


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But as Loki still looked, he became even more surprised, for the 
sport went on, and Baldur was not hurt. Arrows aimed at his very 
heart glanced back again untinged with blood. The stones fell 
down from his broad, bright brow, and left no bruises there. 
Swords clave, but did not wound him; Miolnir struck him, and he 
was not crushed. At this Loki grew perfectly furious with envy and 
hatred. “ And why is Baldur to be so honored,” said he, “ that even 
steel and stone shall not hurt him? ” Then Loki changed himself 
into a little, dark, bent old woman, with a stick in his hand, and 
hobbled away from the Peacestead to Frigga’s cool saloon. At 
the door he knocked with his stick. 

“Come in! ” said the kind voice of Frigga, and Loki lifted the 
latch. 

Now when Frigga saw, from the other end of the hall, a little, 
bent, crippled old woman come hobbling up her crystal floor, she 
got up with true queenliness and met her halfway, holding out her 
hand and saying in the kindest manner, “ Pray sit down, my poor 
old friend; for it seems to me that you have come from a great 
way off.” 

“ That I have, indeed,” answered Loki in a tremulous, squeaking 
voice. 

“ And did you happen to see anything of the AEsir,” asked Frigga, 
“ as you came? ” 

“ Just now I passed by the Peacestead and saw them at play.” 

“ What were they doing? ” 

“ Shooting at Baldur.” 

Then Frigga bent over her work with a pleased smile on her 
face. “ And nothing hurt him? ” she said. 

“ Nothing,” answered Loki, looking keenly at her. 

“ No, nothing,” murmured Frigga, still looking down and speak- 
ing half musingly to herself; “for all things have -sworn to me that 
they will not.” 

“Sworn!” exclaimed Loki, eagerly; “what is that you say? 
Has everything sworn then? ” 

“ Everything,” answered she, “ excepting, indeed, the little shrub 
mistletoe, which grows, you know, on the west side of Valhalla, and 
to which I said nothing, because I thought it was too young to swear.” 

“ Excellent! ” thought Loki, and then he got up. 

“ You’re not going yet, are you? ” said Frigga, stretching out her 
hand and looking up at last into the eyes of the old woman. 

“ Fm quite rested now, thank you,” answered Loki in his squeaky 


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voice, and then he hobbled out at the door, which clapped after 
him, and sent a cold gust into the room. Frigga shuddered, and 
thought that a serpent was gliding down the back of her neck. 

When Loki had left the presence of Frigga, he changed himself 
back to his proper shape and went straight to the west side of Val- 
halla, where the mistletoe grew. Then he opened his knife and cut 
off a large branch, saying these words, “Too young for Frigga’s 
oaths, but not too weak for Loki’s work.” After which he set off 
for the Peacestead once more, the mistletoe in his hand. When he 
got there he found that the ^sir were still at their sport, standing 
round, taking aim, and talking eagerly, and Baldur did not seem 
tired. 

But there was one who stood alone, leaning against a tree, and 
who took no part in what was going on. This was Hodur, Baldur’s 
blind twin-brother; he stood with his head bent downwards, silent 
whilst the others were speaking, doing nothing when they were most 
eager; and Loki thought that there was a discontented expression 
on his face, just as if he were saying to himself, “ Nobody takes any 
notice of me.” So Loki went up to him and put his hand upon his 
shoulder. 

“And why are you standing here all alone, my brave friend? ” 
said he. “Why don’t you throw something at Baldur? Hew at 
him with a sword, or show him some attention of that sort.” 

“ I haven’t a sword,” answered Hodur, with an impatient gesture; 
“ and you know as well as I do, Loki, that Father Odin does not 
approve of my wearing warlike weapons, or joining in sham fights, 
because I am blind.” 

“Oh! is that it? ” said Loki. “Well, I only know I shouldn’t 
like to be left out of everything. However, I’ve got a twig of mistle- 
toe here which I’ll lend you if you like; a harmless little twig 
enough, but I shall be happy to guide your arm if you would like to 
throw it, and Baldur might take it as a compliment from his twin- 
brother.” 

“ Let me feel it,” said Hodur, stretching out his uncertain hands. 

“ This way, this way, my dear friend,” said Loki, giving him the 
twig. “Now, as hard as ever you can, to do him honor ; throw! ” 

Hodur threw — Baldur fell, and the shadow of death covered 
the whole earth. 


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PART III 

BALDUR DEAD 

One after another they turned and left the Peacestead, those 
friends and brothers of the slain. One after another they turned 
and went towards the city; crushed hearts, heavy footsteps, no word 
ainongst them, a shadow upon all. The shadow was in Asgard, too 
— had walked through Frigga’s hall and seated itself upon the 
threshold of Gladsheim. Odin had just come out to look at it, and 
Frigga stood by in mute despair as the /Esir came up. 

44 Loki did it! Loki did it! ” they said at last in confused, hoarse 
whispers, and they looked from one to another, — upon Odin, upon 
Frigga, upon the shadow which they saw before them, and which 
they felt within. 44 Loki did it! Loki, Loki! ” they went on say- 
ing; but it was no use repeating the name of Loki over and over 
again when there was another name they were too sad to utter 
which yet filled all their hearts — Baldur. Frigga said it first, 
and then they all went to look at him lying down so peacefully on the 
grass — dead, dead. 

44 Carry him to the funeral pyre! ” said Odin, at length; and four 
of the /Esir stooped down and lifted their dead brother. 

With scarcely any sound they carried the body tenderly to the 
seashore and laid it upon the deck of that majestic ship called 
Ringhorn, which had been his. Then they stood round waiting to 
see who would come to the funeral. Odin came, and on his shoul- 
der? sat his two ravens, whose croaking drew clouds down over the 
Asa’s face, for Thought and Memory sang one sad song that day. 
Frigga came, — Frey, Gerda, Freyja, Thor, Hcenir, Bragi, and 
Iduna. Heimdall came sweeping over the tops of the mountains on 
Golden Mane, his swift, bright steed. JE gir the Old groaned from 
under the deep, and sent his daughters up to mourn around the 
dead. Frost-giants and mountain-giants came crowding round the 
rimy shores of Jotunheim to look across the sea upon the funeral 
of an Asa. Nanna came, Baldur’s fair young wife; but when she 
saw the dead body of her husband, her own heart broke with grief, 
and the TEsir laid her beside him on the stately ship. After this 
Odin stepped forward and placed a ring on the breast of his son, 
whispering something at the same time in his ear; but when he and 
the rest of the i^Esir tried to push Ringhorn into the sea before 
setting fire to it, they found that their hearts were so heavy they 
could lift nothing. So they beckoned to the giantess Hyrrokin to 


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come over from Jotunheim and help them. She, with a single 
push, set the ship floating, and then, whilst Thor stood up holding 
Miolnir high in the air, Odin lighted the funeral pile of Baldur and 
of Nanna. 

So Ringhorn went out floating towards the deep, and the funeral 
fire burnt on. Its broad red flame burst forth towards heaven; but 
when the smoke would have gone upward too, the winds came 
sobbing and carried it away. 


PART IV 

HELHEIM 

When at last the ship Ringhorn had floated out so far to sea that 
it looked like a dull red lamp on the horizon, Frigga turned round 
and said, “ Does any one of you, my children, wish to perform a 
noble action and win my love forever? ” 

“ I do,” cried Hermod, before any one else had time to open his 
lips. 

“ Go then, Hermod,” answered Frigga, “ saddle Sleipnir with all 
speed and ride down to Helheim; there seek out Hela, the stern 
mistress of the dead, and entreat her to send our beloved back to us 
once more.” 

Hermod was gone in the twinkling of an eye, not in at the mouth 
of the earth and through the steep cavern down which Odin went 
to the dead Vala’s grave; he chose another way, though not a better 
one; for, go to Helheim how you will, the best is but a downward 
road, and so Hermod found it — downward, slanting, slippery, dark, 
and very cold. At last he came to the Giallar Bru — that sounding 
river which flows between the living and the dead, and the bridge 
over which is paved with stones of glittering gold. Hermod was 
surprised to see gold in such a place; but as he rode over the bridge, 
and looked down carefully at the stones, he saw that they were only 
tears which had been shed round the beds of the dying — only tears, 
and yet they made the way seem brighter. But when Hermod 
reached the other end of the bridge, he found the courageous woman 
who, for ages and ages, had been sitting there to watch the dead go 
by, and she stopped him, saying: 

“ What a noise you make! Who are you? Yesterday five troops 
of dead men went over the Giallar Bridge and did not shake it 
so much as you have done. Besides,” she added, looking more 
closely at Hermod, “ you are not a dead man at all. Your lips are 


Myths and Legends 323 

neither cold not blue. Why, then, do you ride on the way to 
Helheim? ” 

“ I seek Baldur,” answered Hermod. “ Tell me, have you seen 
him pass? ” 

“ Baldur,” she said, “ has ridden over the bridge; but there below, 
towards the north, lies the way to the Abodes of Death.” 

So Hermod went on the way until he came to the barred gates 
of Helheim itself. There he alighted, tightened his saddle-girths, 
remounted, clapped both spurs to his horse, and cleared the gate by 
one tremendous leap. Then Hermod found himself in a place where 
no living man had ever been before — the City of the Dead. Per- 
haps you think there is a great silence there, but you are mistaken. 
Hermod thought he had never in his life heard so much noise; for 
the echoes of all words were speaking together — words, some newly 
uttered and some ages old ; but the dead men did not hear who flitted 
up and down the dark streets, for their ears had been stunned 
and become cold long since. Hermod rode on through the city until 
he came to the palace of Hela, which stood in the midst. Precipice 
was its threshold, the entrance hall, Wide Storm, and yet Hermod 
was not too much afraid to seek the innermost rooms; so he went 
on to the banqueting hall, where Hela sat at the head of her table 
and served her newest guests. Baldur, alas! sat at her right hand, 
and on her left his pale young wife. When Hela saw Hermod com- 
ing up the hall she smiled grimly, but beckoned to him at the same 
time to sit down, and told him that he might sup that night with 
her. It was a strange supper for a living man to sit down to. 
Hunger was the table; Starvation, Hela’s knife; Delay, her man; 
Slowness, her maid; and Burning Thirst, her wine. After supper 
Hela led the way to the sleeping apartments. “ You see,” she said, 
turning to Hermod, “ I am very anxious about the comfort of my 
guests. Here are beds of unrest provided for all, hung with cur- 
tains of weariness, and look how all the walls are furnished with 
despair.” 

So saying she strode away, leaving Hermod and Baldur together. 
The whole night they sat on those unquiet couches and talked. 
Hermod could speak of nothing but the past, and as he looked 
anxiously round the room his eyes became dim with tears. But 
Baldur seemed to see a light far off, and he spoke of what was to 
come. 

The next morning Hermod went to Hela, and entreated her to let 
Baldur return to Asgard. He even offered to take his place in Hel- 


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Types of Children s Literature 

heim if she pleased; but Hela only laughed at this and said: You 

talk a great deal about Baldur, and boast how much every one loves 
him; I will prove now if what you have told me be true. Let every- 
thing on earth, living or dead, weep for Baldur, and he shall go 
home again; but if one thing only refuse to weep, then let Helheim 
hold its own; he shall not go.” 

“Every one will weep willingly,” said Hermod, as he mounted 
Sleipnir and rode towards the entrance of the city. Baldur went 
with him as far as the gate and began to send messages to all his 
friends in Asgard, but Hermod would not listen to many of them. 

“ You will so soon come back to us,” he said, “ there is no use 
in sending messages.” 

So Hermod darted homewards, and Baldur watched him through 
the bars of Helheim’s gateway as he flew along. 

“ Not soon, not soon,” said the dead Asa; but still he saw the light 
far off, and thought of what was to come. 

PART V 

WEEPING 

“ Well, Hermod, what did she say? ” asked the /Esir from the 
top of the hill as they saw him coming ; “ make haste and tell us 
what she said.” And Hermod came up. 

“Oh! is that all? ” they cried, as’ soon as he had delivered his 
message. “ Nothing can be more easy,” and then they all hurried 
off to tell Frigga. She was weeping already, and in five minutes 
there was not a tearless eye in Asgard. 

“ But this is not enough,” said Odin ; “ the whole earth must 
know of our grief that it may weep with us.” 

Then the father of the /Esir called to him his messenger maidens 
— the beautiful Valkyrior — and sent them out into all worlds with 
these three words on their lips, “ Baldur is dead ! ” But the words 
were so dreadful that at first the messenger maidens could only 
whisper them in low tones as they went along, “ Baldur is dead! ” 
The dull, sad sounds flowed back on Asgard like a new river of 
grief, and it seemed to the /Esir as if they now wept for the first 
time — “ Baldur is dead ! ” 

“ What is that the Valkyrior are saying? ” asked the men and 
women in all the country round, and when they heard rightly, men 
left their labor and lay down to weep — women dropped the buckets 
they were carrying to the well, and, leaning their faces over them, 


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filled them with tears. The children crowded upon the doorsteps, 
or sat down at the corners of the streets, crying as if their own 
mothers were dead. 

The Valkyrior passed on. “ Baldur is dead! ” they said to the 
empty fields; and straightway the grass and the wild field-flowers 
shed tears. 

“ Baldur is dead ! ” said the messenger maidens to the rocks and 
stones; and the very stones began to weep. “ Baldur is dead! ” the 
Valkyrior cried; and even the old mammoth’s bones, which had lain 
for centuries under the hills, burst into tears, so that small rivers 
gushed forth from every mountain’s side. “ Baldur is dead ! ” said 
the messenger maidens as they swept over silent sands; and all the 
shells wept pearls. “Baldur is dead! ” they cried to the sea, and 
to Jotunheim across the sea; and when the giants understood it, 
even they wept, whilst the sea rained spray to heaven. After this 
the Valkyrior stepped from one stone to another until they reached 
a rock that stood alone in the middle of the sea; then, all together, 
they bent forward over the edge of it, stooped down and peeped 
over, that they might tell the monsters of the deep. “ Baldur is 
dead! ” they said, and the sea monsters and the fish wept. Then the 
messenger maidens looked at one another and said, “ Surely our 
work is done.” So they twined their arms round one another’s 
waists, and set forth on the downward road to Helheim, there to 
claim Baldur from among the dead. 

After he had sent forth his messenger maidens, Odin had seated 
himself on the top of Air Throne that he might see how the earth 
received his message. At first he watched the Valkyrior as they 
stepped forth north and south, and east and west; but soon the whole 
earth’s steaming tears rose up like a great cloud and hid everything 
from him. Then he looked down through the cloud and said, “ Are 
you all weeping? ” The Valkyrior heard the sound of his voice 
as they went all together down the slippery road, and they turned 
round, stretching out their arms towards Air Throne, their long hair 
falling back, whilst, with choked voices and streaming eyes, they 
answered, “The world weeps, Father Odin; the world and we.” 

After this they went on their way until they came to the end of 
the cave Gnipa, where Garm was chained, and which yawned over 
Niflheim. “ The world weeps,” they said one to another by way 
of encouragement, for here the road was so dreadful; but just as 
they were about to pass through the mouth of Gnipa they came 
upon a haggard witch named Thaukt, who sat in the entrance with 


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her back to them, and her face toward the abyss. “ Baldur is dead ! 
Weep, weep! ” said the messenger maidens, as they tried to pass 
her; but Thaukt made answer: 

“ What she doth hold, 

Let Hela keep; 

For naught care I, 

Though the world weep, 

O’er Baldur’s bale. 

Live he or die 
With tearless eye, 

Old Thaukt shall wail.” 

And with these words leaped into Niflheim with a yell of triumph. 

“Surely that cry was the cry of Loki,” said one of the maidens; 
but another pointed towards the city of Helheim, and there they 
saw the stern face of Hela looking over the wall. 

“ One has not wept,” said the grim Queen, “ and Helheim holds 
its own.” So saying she motioned the maidens away with her long, 
cold hand. 

Then the Valkyrior turned and fled up the steep way to the foot 
of Odin’s throne, like a pale snowdrift that flies before the storm. 


THE HERO STORY 

SIR WILLIAM WALLACE 
Walter Scott 

I told you, my dear Hugh, that Edward I of England had reduced 
Scotland almost entirely to the condition of a conquered country, 
although he had obtained possession of the kingdom less by his 
bravery, than by cunningly taking advantage of the disputes and 
divisions that followed amongst the Scots themselves after the death 
of Alexander III. 

The English, however, had in point of fact obtained possession 
of the country, and governed it with much rigor. The Lord High 
Justice Ormesby called all men to account, who would not take the 
oath of allegiance to King Edward. Many of the Scots refused 
this, as what the English king had no right to demand from them. 
Such persons were called into the courts of justice, fined, deprived 
of their estates, and otherwise severely punished. Then Hugh 
Cressingham, the English treasurer, tormented the Scottish nation, 
by collecting money from them under various pretexts. The Scots 
were always a poor people, and their native kings had treated them 
with much kindness, and seldom required them to pay any taxes. 
They were, therefore, extremely enraged at finding themselves 
obliged to pay to the English treasurer much larger sums of money 
than their own good kings had ever demanded from them; and they 
became exceedingly dissatisfied. 

Besides these modes of oppression, the English soldiers, who, I 
told you, had been placed in garrison in the different castles of 
Scotland, thought themselves masters of the country, treated the Scots 
with great contempt, took from them by main force whatever 1 they 
had a fancy to, and if the owners offered to resist, abused them, 
beat and wounded, and sometimes killed them; for which acts of 
violence the English officers did not check or punish their soldiers. 
Scotland was, therefore, in great distress, and the inhabitants, ex- 
ceedingly enraged, only wanted some leader to command them, to 
rise up in a body against the English or Southern men, as they called 
them, and recover the liberty and independence of their country, 
which had been destroyed by Edward the First. 

Such a leader arose in the person of William Wallace, whose 
name is still so often mentioned in Scotland. It is a great pity 

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we do not know exactly the history of this brave man; for at the 
time when he lived, every one was so busy fighting, that there was no 
person to write down the history of what took place; and afterwards, 
when there was more leisure for composition, the truths that were 
collected were greatly mingled with falsehood. What I shall tell 
you of him is generally believed to be true. 

William Wallace was none of the high nobles of Scotland, but the 
son of a private gentleman, called Wallace of Ellerslie, in Renfrew- 
shire, near Paisley. He was very tall and handsome, and one of the 
strongest and bravest men that ever lived. He had a very fine 
countenance, with a quantity of fair hair, and was particularly dex- 
terous in the use of all weapons which were then employed in battle. 
Wallace, like all Scotsmen of high spirit, had looked with great 
indignation upon the usurpation of the crown by Edward, and upon 
the insolencies which the English soldiers committed on his country- 
men. It is said, that when he was very young, he went a-fishing for 
sport in the river of Irvine, near Ayr. He had caught a good many 
trouts, which were carried by a boy, who attended him with a fish- 
ing-basket, as is usual with anglers. Two or three English soldiers, 
who belonged to the garrison of Ayr, came up to Wallace, and in- 
sisted, with their usual insolence, on taking the fish from the boy. 
Wallace was contented to allow them a part of the trouts, but he 
refused to part with the whole basketful. The soldiers insisted, and 
from words came to blows. Wallace had no better weapon than the 
butt-end of his fishing-rod; but he struck the foremost of the Eng- 
lishmen so hard under the ear with it that he killed him on the spot; 
and getting possession of the slain man’s sword, he fought with so 
much fury that he put the others to flight, and brought home his fish 
safe and sound. The English governor of Ayr sought for him, to 
punish him with death for this action; but Wallace lay concealed 
among the hills and great woods till the matter was forgotten, and 
then appeared in another part of the country. He is said to have 
had other adventures of the same kind, in which he gallantly de- 
fended himself, sometimes when alone, sometimes with very few com- 
panions, against superior numbers of the English, until at last his 
name became generally known as a terror to them. 

But the action which occasioned his finally rising in arms, is 
believed to have happened in the town of Lanark. Wallace was at 
this time married to a lady of that place, and residing there with his 
wife. It chanced, as he walked in the market place, dressed in a 
green garment, with a rich dagger by his side, that an Englishman 


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came up and insulted him on account of his finery, saying, a Scots- 
man had no business to wear so gay a dress, or carry so handsome 
a weapon. It soon came to a quarrel, as on many former occasions; 
and Wallace, having killed the Englishman, fled to his own house, 
which was speedily assaulted by all the English soldiers. While 
they were endeavoring to force their way in at the front of the house, 
Wallace escaped by a back door, and got in safety to a rugged 
and rocky glen, near Lanark, called the Cartland crags, all covered 
with bushes and trees, and full of high precipices, where he knew 
he should be safe from the pursuit of the English soldiers . 1 In the 
meantime, the governor of Lanark, whose name was Hazelrigg, 
burned Wallace’s house, and put his wife and servants to death; and 
by committing this cruelty increased to the highest pitch, as you 
may well believe, the hatred which the champion had always borne 
against the English usurper. Hazelrigg also proclaimed Wallace 
an outlaw, and offered a reward to any one who should bring him to 
an English garrison, alive or dead. 

On the other hand, Wallace soon collected a body of men, out- 
lawed like himself, or willing to become so, rather than any longer 
endure the oppression of the English. One of his earliest expedi- 
tions was directed against Hazelrigg, whom he killed, and thus 
avenged the death of his wife. He fought skirmishes with the sol- 
diers who were sent against him, and often defeated them; and in 
time became so well known and so formidable, that multitudes 
began to resort to his standard, until at length he was at the head 
of a considerable army, with which he proposed to restore his coun- 
try to independence. 

About this time is said to have taken place a memorable event, 
which the Scottish people called the 44 Barns of Ayr.” It is alleged 
that the English governor of Ayr had invited the greater part of 
the Scottish nobility and gentry in the western parts to meet him 
at some large buildings called the Barns of Ayr, for the purpose 
of friendly conference upon the affairs of the nation. But the Eng- 
lish earl entertained the treacherous purpose of putting the Scot- 
tish gentlemen to death. The English soldiers had halters with run- 
ning nooses ready prepared, and hung upon the beams which sup- 
ported the roof; and, as the Scottish gentlemen were admitted by two 
and two at a time, the nooses were thrown over their heads, and they 

1 In the western face of the chasm of Cartland Crags, a few yards above the 
new bridge, a cave in the rock is pointed out by tradition as having been the 
hiding-place of Wallace. 


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were pulled up by the neck, and thus hanged or strangled to death. 
Among those who were slain in this base and treacherous manner 
was, it is said, Sir Reginald Crawford, Sheriff of the county of Ayr, 
and uncle to William Wallace. 

When Wallace heard of what had befallen he was dreadfully 
enraged, and collecting his men in a wood near the town of Ayr, 
he resolved to be revenged on the authors of this great crime. The 
English in the meanwhile made much feasting, and when they had 
eaten and drunk plentifully, they lay down to sleep in the same large 
barns in which they had murdered the Scottish gentlemen. But 
Wallace, learning that they kept no guard or watch, not suspecting 
there were any enemies so near them, directed a woman who knew 
the place, to mark with chalk the doors of the lodgings where the 
Englishmen lay. Then he sent a party of men, who, with strong 
ropes, made all the doors so fast on the outside, that those within 
could not open them. On the outside the Scots had prepared heaps 
of straw, to which they set fire, and the barns of Ayr, being them- 
selves made of wood, were soon burning in a bright flame. Then the 
English were awakened, and endeavored to get out to save their 
lives. But the doors, as I told you, were secured on the outside, and 
bound fast with ropes; and, besides, the blazing houses were sur- 
rounded by the Scots, who forced those who got out to run back into 
the fire, or else put them to death on the spot; and thus great num- 
bers perished miserably. Many of the English were lodged in a 
convent, but they had no better fortune than the others; for the prior 
of the convent caused all the friars to arm themselves, and, attack- 
ing the English guests, they put most of them to the sword. This 
was called the “ Friar of Ayr’s blessing.” We cannot tell if 
this story of the “ Barns of Ayr ” be exactly true; but it is probable 
there is some foundation for it, as it is universally believed in that 
country. 

Thus Wallace’s party grew daily stronger and stronger, and many 
of the Scottish nobles joined with him. Among these were Sir 
William Douglas, the Lord of Douglas-dale, and the head of a great 
family often mentioned in Scottish history. There was also Sir 
John the Grahame, who became Wallace’s bosom friend and greatest 
confidant. Many of these great noblemen, however, deserted the 
cause of the country on the approach of John de Warenne, Earl of 
Surrey, the English governor, at the head of a numerous and well- 
appointed army. They thought that Wallace would be unable to 
withstand the attack of so many disciplined soldiers, and hastened 


331 


The Hero Story 

to submit themselves to the English, for fear of losing their estates. 
Wallace, however, remained undismayed, and at the head of a con- 
siderable army. He had taken up his camp upon the northern side 
of the river Forth, near the town of Stirling. The river was there 
crossed by a long wooden bridge, about a mile above the spot where 
the present bridge is situated. 

The English general approached the banks of the river on the 
southern side. He sent two clergymen to offer a pardon to Wallace 
and his followers, on condition that they should lay down their 
arms. But such was not the purpose of the high-minded champion 
of Scotland. 

“ Go back to Warenne,” said Wallace, “ and tell him we value not 
the pardon of the king of England. We are not here for the purpose 
of treating of peace, but of abiding battle, and restoring freedom 
to our country. Let the English come on; — we defy them to their 
very beards! ” 

The English, upon hearing this haughty answer, called loudly to 
be led to the attack. Their leader, Sir Richard Lundin, a Scottish 
knight, who had gone over to the enemy at Irvine, hesitated, for he 
was a skillful soldier, and he saw that, to approach the Scottish 
army, his troops must pass over the long, narrow wooden bridge; 
so that those who should get over first might be attacked by Wallace 
with all his forces, before those who remained behind could possibly 
come to their assistance. He therefore inclined to delay the battle. 
But Cressingham the treasurer, who was ignorant and presumptuous, 
insisted that it was their duty to fight, and put an end to the war 
at once; and Lundin gave way to his opinion, although Cressingham, 
being a churchman, could not be so good a judge of what was fitting 
as he himself, an experienced officer. 

The English army began to cross the bridge, Cressingham leading 
the van, or foremost division of the army; for, in those military days, 
even clergymen wore armor and fought in battle. That took place 
which Lundin had foreseen. Wallace suffered a considerable part 
of the English army to pass the bridge, without offering any opposi- 
tion; but when about one half were over, and the bridge was crowded 
with those who were following, he charged those who had crossed 
with his whole strength, slew a very great number, and drove the 
rest into the river Forth, where the greater part were drowned. The 
remainder of the English army, who were left on the southern bank 
of the river, fled in great confusion, having first set fire to the wooden 
bridge that the Scots might not pursue them. Cressingham was 


332 


Types of Children s Literature 

killed in the very beginning of the battle; and the Scots detested 
him so much, that they flayed the skin from his dead body, and kept 
pieces of it, in memory of the revenge they had taken upon the 
English treasurer. Some say they made saddle girths of this same 
skin; a purpose for which I do not think it could be very fit. It 
must be owned to have been a dishonorable thing of the Scots to 
insult thus the dead body of their enemy, and shows that they must 
have been then a ferocious and barbarous people. 

The remains of Surrey’s great army fled out of Scotland after this 
defeat; and the Scots, taking arms on all sides, attacked the castles 
in which the English soldiers continued to shelter themselves, and 
took most of them by force or stratagem. Many wonderful stories 
are told of Wallace’s exploits on these occasions; some of which are 
no doubt true, while others are either invented, or very much exag- 
gerated. It seems certain, however, that he defeated the English in 
several combats, chased them almost entirely out of Scotland, re- 
gained the towns and castles of which they had possessed themselves, 
and recovered for a time the complete freedom of the country. He 
even marched into England, and laid Cumberland and Northumber- 
land waste, where the Scottish soldiers, in revenge for the mischief 
which the English had done in their country, committed great cruel- 
ties. Wallace did not approve of their killing the people who were 
not in arms, and he endeavored to protect the clergymen and others, 
who were not able to defend themselves. “ Remain with me,” he 
said to the priests of Hexham, a large town in Northumberland, “ for 
I cannot protect you from my soldiers when you are out of my 
presence.” The troops who followed Wallace received no pay, 
because he had no money to give them ; and that was one great reason 
why he could not keep them under restraint, or prevent their doing 
much harm to the defenseless country people. He remained in 
England more than three weeks, and did a great deal of mischief to 
the country. 

Indeed, it appears that, though Wallace disapproved of slaying 
priests, women, and children, he partook of the ferocity of the times 
so much, as to put to death without quarter all whom he found in 
arms. In the north of Scotland the English had placed a garrison 
in the strong Castle of Dunnottar, which, built on a large and precip- 
itous rock, overhangs the raging sea. Though the place is almost 
inaccessible, Wallace and his followers found their way into the 
castle, while the garrison in great terror fled into the church or 
chapel, which was built on the very verge of the precipice. This 


333 


The Hero Story 

did not save them, for Wallace caused the church to be set on fire. 
The terrified garrison, involved in the flames, ran some of them 
upon the points of the Scottish swords, while others threw them- 
selves from the precipice into the sea and swam along to the cliffs, 
where they hung like sea-fowl, screaming in vain for mercy and 
assistance. 

The followers of Wallace were frightened at this dreadful scene, 
and falling on their knees before the priests who chanced to be in 
the army, they asked forgiveness for having committed so much 
slaughter within the limits of a church dedicated to the service of 
God. But Wallace had so deep a sense of the injuries which the 
English had done to his country that he only laughed at the contri- 
tion of his soldiers. “ I will absolve you all myself,” he said. 
“ Are you Scottish soldiers, and do you repent for a trifle like this, 
which is not half what the invaders deserved at our hands? ” So 
deep-seated was Wallace’s feeling of national resentment that it 
seems to have overcome, in such instances, the scruples of a temper 
which was naturally humane. 

Edward I was in Flanders when all these events took place. You 
may suppose he was very angry when he learned that Scotland, 
which he thought completely subdued, had risen into a great insur- 
rection against him, defeated his armies, killed his treasurer, chased 
his soldiers out of their country, and invaded England with a great 
force. He came back from Flanders in a mighty rage, and deter- 
mined not to leave that rebellious country until it was finally con- 
quered, for which purpose he assembled a very fine army, and 
marched into Scotland. 

In the meantime the Scots prepared to defend themselves, and 
chose Wallace to be Governor, or Protector, of the kingdom, be- 
cause they had no king at the time. He was now titled Sir William 
Wallace, Protector, or Governor, of the Scottish nation. But al- 
though Wallace, as we have seen, was the best soldier and bravest 
man in Scotland, and therefore the most fit to be placed in com- 
mand at this critical period, when the king of England was coming 
against them with such great forces, yet the nobles of Scotland 
envied him this important situation, because he was not a man born 
in high rank, or enjoying a large estate. So great was their jealousy 
of Sir William Wallace, that many of these great barons did not seem 
very willing to bring forward their forces, or fight against the 
English, because they would not have a man of inferior condition 
to be general. This was base and mean conduct, and it was attended 


334 


Types of Childrens Literature 

with great disasters to Scotland . 1 Yet, notwithstanding this un- 
willingness of the great nobility to support him, Wallace assembled 
a large army; for the middling, but especially the lower classes, were 
very much attached to him. He marched boldly against the King 
of England, and met him near the town of Falkirk. Most of the 
Scottish army were on foot, because, as I already told you, in those 
days only the nobility and great men of Scotland fought on horse- 
back. The English king, on the contrary, had a very large body of 
the finest cavalry in the world, Normans and English, all clothed in 
complete armor. He had also the celebrated archers of England, 
each of whom was said to carry twelve Scotsmen’s lives under his 
girdle; because every archer had twelve arrows stuck in his belt, and 
was expected to kill a man with every arrow. 

The Scots had some good archers from the Forest of Ettrick, 
who fought under command of Sir John Stewart of Bonkill; but 
they were not nearly equal in number to the English. The greater 
part of the Scottish army were on foot, armed with long spears; they 
were placed thick and close together, and laid all their spears so 
close, point over point, that it seemed as difficult to break through 
them, as through the wall of a strong castle. When the two armies 
were drawn up facing each other, Wallace said to his soldiers, “ I 
have brought you to the ring, let me see how you can dance; ” mean- 
ing, I have brought you to the decisive field of battle, let me see 
how bravely you can fight. 

The English made the attack. King Edward, though he saw the 
close ranks, and undaunted appearance, of the Scottish infantry, 
resolved nevertheless to try whether he could not ride them down 
with his fine cavalry. He therefore gave his horsemen orders to 
advance. They charged accordingly, at full gallop. It must have 
been a terrible thing to have seen these fine horses riding as hard 
as they could against the long lances, which were held out by the 
Scots to keep them back; and a dreadful cry arose when they came 
against each other. 

The first line of cavalry was commanded by the Earl Marshal of 
England, whose progress was checked by a morass. The second line 

1 “ These mean and selfish jealousies were increased by the terror of Edward’s 
military renown, and in many by the fear of losing their English estates; so 
that at the very time when an honest love of liberty, and a simultaneous spirit 
of resistance, could alone have saved Scotland, its nobility deserted it at its 
utmost need, and refused to act with the only man whose military talents and 
prosperity were equal to the emergency.”— Tytler’s History of Scotland. 


335 


The Hero Story 

of English horse was commanded by Antony Beck, the Bishop of 
Durham, who, nevertheless, wore armor, and fought like a lay 
baron. He wheeled round the morass; but when he saw the deep 
and firm order of the Scots, his heart failed, and he proposed to 
Sir Ralph Basset of Drayton, who commanded under him, to halt 
till Edward himself brought up the reserve. “ Go say your mass, 
bishop,” answered Basset contemptuously, and advanced at full gal- 
lop with the second line. However, the Scots stood their ground 
with their long spears; many of the foremost of the English horses 
were thrown down, and the riders were killed as they lay rolling, 
unable to rise, owing to the weight of their heavy armor. But the 
Scottish horse did not come to the assistance of their infantry, but 
on the contrary, fled away from the battle. It is supposed that this 
was owing to the treachery or ill-will of the nobility, who were 
jealous of Wallace. But it must be considered that the Scottish 
cavalry were few in number; and that they had much worse arms, 
and weaker horses, than their enemies. The English cavalry at- 
tempted again and again to disperse the deep and solid ranks in 
which Wallace had stationed his foot soldiers. But they were re- 
peatedly beaten off with loss, nor could they make their way through 
that wood of spears, as it is called by one of the English historians. 
King Edward then commanded his archers to advance; and these 
approaching within arrow-shot of the Scottish ranks, poured on them 
such close and dreadful volleys of arrows, that it was impossible to 
sustain the discharge. It happened at the same time, that Sir John 
Stewart was killed by a fall from his horse; and the archers of 
Ettrick Forest, whom he was bringing forward to oppose those of 
King Edward, were slain in great numbers around him. Their 
bodies were afterwards distinguished among the slain, as being the 
tallest and handsomest men of the army.’ 

The Scottish spearmen being thus thrown into some degree of 
confusion, by the loss of those who were slain by the arrows of the 
English, the heavy cavalry of Edward again charged with more 
success than formerly, and broke through the ranks, which were 
already disordered. Sir John Grahame, Wallace’s great friend and 
companion, was slain, with many other brave soldiers; and the 
Scots, having lost a very great number of men, were at length obliged 
to take to flight. 

This fatal battle was fought upon the 22d of July, 1298. Sir John 
the Grahame lies buried in the churchyard of Falkirk. A tombstone 
was laid over him, which has been three times renewed since his 


336 


Types of Childrens Literature 

death. The inscription bears, “ That Sir John the Grahame, equally 
remarkable for wisdom and courage, and the faithful friend of Wal- 
lace, being slain in battle by the English, lies buried in this place.” 
A large oak tree in the adjoining forests was long shown as mark- 
ing the spot where Wallace slept before the battle, or, as others said, 
in which he hid himself after the defeat. Nearly forty years ago, 
Grandpa saw some of its roots; but the body of the tree was even 
then entirely decayed, and there is not now, and has not been for 
many years, the least vestige of it to be seen. 

After this fatal defeat of Falkirk, Sir William Wallace seems 
to have resigned his office of Governor of Scotland. Several nobles 
were named guardians in his place, and continued to make resist- 
ance to the English armies; and they gained some advantages, par- 
ticularly near Roslin, where a body of Scots, commanded by John 
Comyn of Badenoch, who was one of the guardians of the kingdom, 
and another distinguished commander, called Simon Fraser, de- 
feated three armies, or detachments, of English in one day. 

Nevertheless, the king of England possessed so much wealth, and 
so many means of raising soldiers, that he sent army after army 
into the poor oppressed country of Scotland, and obliged all its 
nobles and great men, one after another, to submit themselves 
once more to his yoke. Sir William Wallace, alone, or with a 
very small band of followers, refused either to acknowledge the 
usurper Edward, or to lay down his arms. He continued to main- 
tain himself among the woods and mountains of his native country 
for no less than seven years after his defeat at Falkirk, and for 
more than one year after all the other defenders of Scottish liberty 
had laid down their arms. Many proclamations were sent out 
against him by the English, and a great reward was set upon his 
head; for Edward did not think he could have any secure possession 
of his usurped kingdom of Scotland while Wallace lived. At length 
he was taken prisoner; and, shame it is to say, a Scotsman, called Sir 
John Menteith, was the person by whom he was seized and delivered 
to the English. It is generally said that he was made prisoner at 
Robroyston, near Glasgow; and the tradition of the country bears, 
that the signal made for rushing .upon him and taking him at un- 
awares, was, when one of his pretended friends, who betrayed him, 
should turn a loaf, which was placed upon the table, with its 
bottom or flat side uppermost. And in after times it was reckoned 
ill-breeding to turn a loaf in that manner, if there was a person 
named Menteith in company; since it was as much as to remind him, 


The Hero Story 337 

that his namesake had betrayed Sir William Wallace, the Champion 
of Scotland. 

Whether Sir John Menteith was actually the person by whom 
Wallace was betrayed, is not perfectly certain. He was, however, 
the individual by whom the patriot was made prisoner, and de- 
livered up to the English, for which his name and his memory have 
been long loaded with disgrace. 

Edward, having thus obtained possession of the person whom he 
considered as the greatest obstacle to his complete conquest of Scot- 
land, resolved to make Wallace an example to all Scottish patriots 
who should in future venture to oppose his ambitious projects. He 
caused this gallant defender of his country to be brought to trial in 
Westminster hall, before the English judges, and produced him there, 
crowned in mockery, with a green garland, because they said he had 
been king of outlaws and robbers among the Scottish woods. 
Wallace was accused of having been a traitor to the English crown; 
to which he answered, “ I could not be a traitor to Edward, for I 
was never his subject.” He was then charged with having taken and 
burnt towns and castles, with having killed many men and done 
much violence. He replied, with the same calm resolution, “ that 
it was true he had killed very many Englishmen, but it was because 
they had come to subdue and oppress his native country of Scot- 
land; and far from repenting what he had done, he declared he was 
only sorry that he had not put to death many more of them.” 

Notwithstanding that Wallace’s defense was a good one, both in 
law and in common sense, (for surely every one has not only a 
right to fight in defense of his native country, but is bound in duty 
to do so,) the English judges condemned him to be executed. So 
this brave patriot was dragged upon a sledge to the place of execu- 
tion, where his head was struck off, and his body divided into four 
quarters, which, according to the cruel custom of the time, were 
exposed upon spikes of iron on London Bridge, and were termed the 
limbs of a traitor. 

No doubt King Edward thought, that by exercising this great 
severity towards so distinguished a patriot as Sir William Wallace, 
he should terrify all the Scots into obedience, and so be able in 
future to reign over their country without resistance. But though 
Edward was a powerful, a brave, and a wise king, and though he 
took the most cautious, as well as the most strict measures, to pre- 
serve the obedience of Scotland, yet his claim being founded on in- 
justice and usurpation, was not permitted by Providence to be estab- 


338 Types of Childrens Literature 

lished in security or peace. Sir William Wallace, that immortal sup- 
porter of the independence of his country, was no sooner deprived 
of his life, in the cruel and unjust manner I have told you, than 
other patriots arose to assert the cause of Scottish liberty. 


THE REPRODUCTION 

THE TEMPEST 
Charles and Mary Lamb 

There was a certain island in the sea, the only inhabitants of 
which were an old man, whose name was Prospero, and his daughter 
Miranda, a very beautiful young lady. She came to this island 
so young, that she had no memory of having seen any other human 
face than her father’s. 

They lived in a cave or cell, made out of a rock; it was divided 
into several apartments, one of which Prospero called his study; 
there he kept his books, which chiefly treated of magic, a study 
at that time much affected by all learned men; and the knowledge of 
this art he found very useful to him; for being thrown by a strange 
chance upon this island, which had been enchanted by a witch 
called Sycorax, who died there a short time before his arrival, 
Prospero, by virtue of his art, released many good spirits that 
Sycorax had imprisoned in the bodies of large trees, because they 
had refused to execute her wicked demands. These gentle spirits 
were ever after obedient to the will of Prospero. Of these Ariel was 
the chief. 

The lively little sprite Ariel had nothing mischievous in his 
nature, except that he took rather too much pleasure in torment- 
ing an ugly monster called Caliban, for he owed him a grudge, 
because he was the son of his old enemy Sycorax. This Caliban, 
Prospero found in the woods, a strange misshapen thing, far less 
human in form than an ape; he took him home to his cell, and 
taught him to speak; and Prospero would have been very kind to 
him, but the bad nature which Caliban inherited from his mother 
Sycorax would not let him learn anything good or useful: therefore 
he was employed like a slave, to fetch wood and do the most labori- 
ous offices; and Ariel had the charge of compelling him to these 
services. 

When Caliban was lazy and neglected his work, Ariel (who was in- 
visible to all eyes but Prospero’s) would come slyly and pinch him, 
and sometimes tumble him down in the mire; and then Ariel, in the 
likeness of an ape, would make mouths at him. Then swiftly chang- 
ing his shape, in the likeness of a hedgehog, he would lie tumbling 
in Caliban’s way, who feared the hedgehog’s sharp quills would 

339 


340 Types of Childrens Literature 

prick his bare feet. With a variety of such like vexatious tricks 
Ariel would often torment him, whenever Caliban neglected the work 
which Prospero commanded him to do. 

Having these powerful spirits obedient to his will, Prospero could 
by their means command the winds, and the waves of the sea. By his 
orders they raised a violent storm, in the midst of which, and 
struggling with the wild sea-waves that every moment threatened 
to swallow it up, he showed his daughter a fine large ship, which 
he told her was full of living beings like themselves. “ 0 my dear 
father,” said she, 44 if by your art you have raised this dreadful 
storm, have pity on their sad distress. See! the vessel will be 
dashed to pieces. Poor souls! they will all perish. If I had power, 

I would sink the sea beneath the earth, rather than the good ship 
should be destroyed, with all the precious souls within her.” 

44 Be not so amazed, daughter Miranda,” said Prospero; 44 there is 
no harm done. I have so ordered it that no person in the ship shall 
receive any hurt. What I have done has been in care of you, my 
dear child. You are ignorant who you are, or where you came from, 
and you know no more of me, but that I am your father, and live 
in this poor cave. Can you remember a time before you came to 
this cell? I think you cannot, for you were not then three years of 
age.” 

44 Certainly I can, sir,” replied Miranda. 

44 By what? ” asked Prospero; 44 by any other house or person? 
Tell me what you can remember, my child.” 

Miranda said, 44 It seems to me like the recollection of a dream. 
But had I not once four or five women who attended upon me? ” 

Prospero answered, 44 You had, and more. How is it that this 
still lives in your mind? Do you remember how you came here? ” 

44 No, sir,” said Miranda, 44 1 remember nothing more.” 

44 Twelve years ago, Miranda,” continued Prospero, 44 1 was duke 
of Milan, and you were a princess, and my only heir. I had a 
younger brother, whose name was Antonio, to whom I trusted every- 
thing; and as I was fond of retirement and deep study, I commonly 
left the management of my state affairs to your uncle, my false 
brother (for so indeed he proved). I, neglecting all worldly ends, 
buried among my books, did dedicate my whole time to the bettering 
of my mind. My brother Antonio being thus in possession of my 
power, began to think himself the duke indeed. The opportunity I 
gave him of making himself popular among my subjects* awakened 
in his bad nature a proud ambition to deprive me of my dukedom: 


341 


The Reproduction 

this he soon effected with the aid of the king of Naples, a power- 
ful prince, who was my enemy.” 

“ Wherefore,” said Miranda, “ did they not that hour destroy us? ” 

“ My child,” answered her father, “ they durst not, so dear was 
the love that my people bore me. Antonio carried us on board a 
chip, and when we were some leagues out at sea he forced us into a 
small boat, without either tackle, sail, or mast; there he left us, as 
he thought, to perish. But a kind lord of my court, one Gonzalo, 
who loved me, had privately placed in the boat, water, provisions, 
apparel, and some books which I prize above my dukedom.” 

44 0 my father,” said Miranda, 44 what a trouble must I have been 
to you then! ” 

4 * No, my love,” said Prospero, 44 you were a little cherub that did 
preserve me. Your innocent smiles made me to bear up against my 
misfortunes. Our food lasted until we landed on this desert island, 
since which time my chief delight has been in teaching you, Miranda, 
and well have you profited by my instructions.” 

“Heaven thank you, my dear father,” said Miranda. “Now 
pray tell me, sir, your reason for raising this sea storm! ” 

“ Know then,” said her father, 44 that by means of this storm, my 
enemies, the king of Naples and my cruel brother, are cast ashore 
upon this island.” 

Having so said, Prospero gently touched his daughter with his 
magic wand, and she fell fast asleep; for the spirit Ariel just then 
presented himself before his master, to give an account of the 
tempest, and how he had disposed of the ship’s company; and 
though the spirits were always invisible to Miranda, Prospero did 
not choose that she should hear him holding converse (as would 
seem to her) with the empty air. 

“ Well, my brave spirit,” said Prospero to Ariel, “ how have you 
performed your task? ” 

Ariel gave a lively description of the storm, and of the terrors of 
the mariners; and how the king’s son, Ferdinand, was the first who 
leaped into the sea; and his father thought he saw this dear son 
swallowed up by the waves and lost. “ But he is safe,” said Ariel, 
“ in a corner of the isle, sitting with his arms folded, sadly lament- 
ing the loss of the king his father, whom he concludes drowned. 
Not a hair of his head is injured, and his princely garments, though 
drenched in the sea-waves, look fresher than before.” 

“That’s my delicate Ariel,” said Prospero. 44 Bring him hither: 
my daughter must see this young prince. Where is the king, and 
my brother? ” 


342 


Types of Children s Literature 

“ I left them,” answered Ariel, “ searching for Ferdinand, whom 
they have little hopes of finding, thinking they saw him perish. Of 
the ship’s crew, not one is missing; though each one thinks himself 
the only one saved : and the ship, though invisible to them, is safe in 
the harbor.” 

“Ariel,” said Prospero, “thy charge is faithfully performed: but 
there is more work yet.” 

“ Is there more work? ” said Ariel. “ Let me remind you, mas- 
ter, you have promised me my liberty. I pray, remember, I have 
done you worthy service, told you no lies, made no mistakes, 
served you without grudge or grumbling.” 

“How now!” said Prospero. “You do not recollect what a 
torment I freed you from. Have you forgot the wicked witch Syco- 
rax, who with age and envy was almost bent double? Where was 
she born? Speak; tell me.” 

“ Sir, in Algiers,” said Ariel. 

“ 0 was she so ? ” said Prospero. “ I must recount what you 
have been, which I find you do not remember. This bad witch, 
Sycorax, for her witchcrafts, too terrible to enter human hearing, 
was banished from Algiers, and here left by the sailors; and because 
you were a spirit too delicate to execute her wicked commands, she 
shut you up in a tree, where I found you howling. This torment, 
remember, I did free you from.” 

“ Pardon me, dear master,” said Ariel, ashamed to seem un- 
grateful ; “ I will obey your commands.” 

“ Do so,” said Prospero, “ and I will set you free.” He then 
gave orders what further he would have him do; and away went 
Ariel, first to where he had left Ferdinand, and found him still 
sitting on the grass in the same melancholy position. 

“0 my young gentleman! ” said Ariel, when he saw him, “I 
will soon move you. You must be brought, I find, for the Lady 
Miranda to have a sight of your pretty person. Come, sir, follow 
me.” 

He then began singing, — 

“Full fathom five thy father lies; 

Of his bones are coral made; 

Those are pearls that were his eyes: 

Nothing of him that doth fade, 

But doth suffer a sea-change 
Into something rich and strange. 

Sea-nymphs hourly ring his knell: 

Hark, now I hear them, ding-dong-bell.” 


343 


The Reproduction 

This strange news of his lost father soon roused the prince from 
the stupid fit into \ 'hich he had fallen. He followed in amazement 
the sound of Ariel’s voice, till it led him to Prospero and Miranda, 
who were sitting under the shade of a large tree. Now Miranda 
had never seen a man before, except her own father. 

“ Miranda,” said Prospero, “ tell me what you are looking at yon- 
der.” 

“ 0 father ! ” said Miranda, in a strange surprise, “ surely that 
is a spirit. Lord! how it looks about! Believe me, sir, it is a 
beautiful creature. Is it not a spirit? ” 

“No, girl,” answered the father; “it eats, and sleeps, and has 
senses such as we have. This young man you see was in the ship. 
He is somewhat altered by grief, or you might call him a handsome 
person. He has lost his companions, and is wandering about to find 
them.” 

Miranda, who thought all men had grave faces and gray beards 
like her father, was delighted with the appearance of this beautiful 
young prince; and Ferdinand, seeing such a lovely lady in this desert 
place, and from the strange sounds he had heard, expecting nothing 
but wonders, thought he was upon an enchanted island, and that 
Miranda was the goddess of the place, and as such he began to 
address her. 

She timidly answered she was no goddess, but a simple maid, and 
was going to give him an account of herself, when Prospero inter- 
rupted her. He was well pleased to find they admired each other, 
for he plainly perceived they had (as we say) fallen in love at first 
sight: but to try Ferdinand’s constancy, he resolved to throw some 
difficulties in their way: therefore, advancing forward, he addressed 
the prince with a stern air, telling him, he came to the island as a 
spy, to take it from him who was the lord of it. “ Follow me,” said 
he, “ I will tie you neck and feet together. You shall drink sea- 
water; shell-fish, withered roots, and husks of acorns shall be your 
food.” “ No,” said Ferdinand, “ I will resist such entertainment, 
till I see a more powerful enemy,” and drew his sword; but Prospero, 
waving his magic wand, fixed him to the spot where he stood, so that 
he had no power to move. 

Miranda hung upon her father, saying, “Why are you so un- 
gentle? Have pity, sir; I will be his surety. This is the second man 
I ever saw, and to me he seems a true one.” 

“ Silence,” said the father, “ one word more will make me chide 
you, girl! What! an advocate for an impostor! You think there 


344 


Types of Children s Literature 

are no more such fine men, having seen only him and Caliban. 
I tell you, foolish girl, most men as far excel this as he does Cali- 
ban.” This he said to prove his daughter’s constancy; and she 
replied, “ My affections are most humble. I have no wish to see 
a goodlier man.” 

“ Come on, young man,” said Prospero to the prince, “ you have 
no power to disobey me.” 

“ I have not, indeed,” answered Ferdinand; and not knowing that 
it was by magic that he was deprived of all power of resistance, he 
was astonished to find himself so strangely compelled to follow Pros- 
pero: looking back on Miranda as long as he could see her, he said, 
as he went after Prospero into the cave, “ My spirits are all bound 
up, as if I were in a dream; but this man’s threats, and the weak- 
ness which I feel, would seem light to me if from my prison I 
might once a day behold this fair maid.” 

Prospero kept Ferdinand not long confined within his cell: he 
soon brought out his prisoner, and set him a severe task to per- 
form, taking care to let his daughter know the hard labor he had im- 
posed on him, and then pretending to go into his study, he secretly 
watched them both. 

Prospero had commanded Ferdinand to pile up some heavy logs 
of wood. King’s sons not being much used to laborious work, 
Miranda soon after found her lover almost dying with fatigue. 
“Alas! ” said she, “do not work so hard; my father is at his 
studies, he is safe for these three hours; pray rest yourself.” 

“ 0 my dear lady! ” said Ferdinand, “ I dare not. I must finish 
my task before I take any rest.” 

“ If you will sit down,” said Miranda, “ I will carry your logs the 
while.” But this Ferdinand would by no means agree to. Instead 
of a help Miranda became a hindrance, for they began a long 
conversation, so that the business of log-carrying went on very 
slowly. 

Prospero, who had enjoined Ferdinand this task merely as a trial 
of his love, was not at his books, as his daughter supposed, but 
was standing by them invisible, to overhear what they said. 

Ferdinand inquired her name, which she told, saying it was 
against her father’s express command she did so. 

Prospero only smiled, at this first instance of his daughter’s dis- 
obedience, for having by his magic art caused his daughter to fall 
in love so suddenly, he was not angry that she showed her love by 
forgetting to obey his commands. And he listened well pleased to 


845 


The Reproduction 

a long speech of Ferdinand’s, in which he professed to love her 
above all the ladies he ever saw. 

In answer to his praises of her beauty, which he said exceeded all 
the women in the world, she replied, “ I do not remember the face 
of any woman, nor have I seen any more men than you, my good 
friend, and my dear father. How features are abroad, I know not; 
but, believe me, sir, I would not wish any companion in the world 
but you, nor can my imagination form any shape but yours that I 
could like. But, sir, I fear I talk to you too freely, and that 
my father’s precepts I forget.” 

At this Prospero smiled, and nodded his head, as much as to 
say, “This goes on exactly as I could wish; my girl will be queen 
of Naples.” 

And then Ferdinand, in another fine long speech (for young 
princes speak in courtly phrases) , told the innocent Miranda he was 
heir to the crown of Naples, and that she should be his queen. 

“ Ah ! sir,” said she, “ I am a fool to weep at what I am glad of. 
I will answer you in plain and holy innocence. I am your wife if 
you will marry me.” 

Prospero prevented Ferdinand’s thanks by appearing visible be- 
fore them. 

“Fear nothing, my child,” said he, “I have overheard and 
approve of all you have said. And, Ferdinand, if I have too severely 
used you, I will make you rich amends by giving you my daughter. 
All your vexations were but trials of your love, and you have 
nobly stood the test. Then as my gift, which your true love has 
worthily purchased, take my daughter, and do not smile that I boast 
she is above all praise.” He then, telling them that he had business 
that required his presence, desired that they would sit down and 
talk together until he returned; and this command Miranda seemed 
not at all disposed to disobey. 

When Prospero left them, he called his spirit Ariel, who quickly 
appeared before him, eager to relate what he had done with Pros- 
pero’s brother and the king of Naples. Ariel said he had left them 
almost out of their senses with fear, at the strange things he had 
caused them to see and hear. When fatigued with wandering about, 
and famished for want of food, he had suddenly set before them 
a delicious banquet, and then, just as they were going to eat, he 
appeared visible before them in the shape of a harpy, a voracious 
monster with wings, and the feast vanished away. Then, to their 
utter amazement, this seeming harpy spoke to them, reminding them 


346 Types of Childrens Literature 

of their cruelty in driving Prospero from his dukedom, and leaving 
him and his infant daughter to perish in the sea, saying, that 
for this cause these terrors were suffered to afflict them. 

The king of Naples and Antonio the false brother repented 
the injustice they had done to Prospero; and Ariel told his master 
that he was certain their penitence was sincere, and that he, though 
a spirit, could not but pity them. 

“Then bring them hither, Ariel,” said Prospero: “if you, who 
are but a spirit, feel for their distress, shall not I, who am a human 
being like themselves, have compassion on them? Bring them 
quickly, my dainty Ariel.” 

Ariel soon returned with the king, Antonio, and old Gonzalo in 
their train, who had followed him, wondering at the wild music 
he played in the air to draw them on to his master’s presence. 
This Gonzalo was the same who had so kindly provided Prospero 
formerly with books and provisions, when his wicked brother left 
him, as he thought, to perish in an open boat in the sea. 

Grief and terror had so stupefied their senses that they did not 
know Prospero. He first discovered himself to the good old Gon- 
zalo, calling him the preserver of his life; and then his brother and 
the king knew that he was the injured Prospero. 

Antonio, with tears and sad words of sorrow and true repentance, 
implored his brother’s forgiveness; and the king expressed his sin- 
cere remorse for having assisted Antonio to depose his brother, and 
Prospero forgave them; and, upon their engaging to restore his 
dukedom, he said to the king of Naples, “ I have a gift in store 
for you, too; ” and opening a door, showed him his son Ferdinand 
playing at chess with Miranda. 

Nothing could exceed the joy of the father and the son at this 
unexpected meeting, for they each thought the other drowned in 
the storm. 

“ 0 wonder ! ” said Miranda, “ what noble creatures these are ! 
It must surely be a brave world that has such people in it.” 

The king of Naples was almost as much astonished at the beauty 
and excellent graces of the young Miranda as his son had been. 
“Who is this maid?” said he; “she seems the goddess that has 
parted us, and brought us thus together.” “ No, sir,” answered 
Ferdinand, smiling to find his father had fallen into the same mis- 
take that he had done when he first saw Miranda, “ she is a mortal, 
but by immortal Providence she is mine; I chose her when I could 
not ask you, my father, for your consent, not thinking you were 


347 


The Reproduction 

alive. She is the daughter to this Prospero, who is the famous duke 
of Milan, of whose renown I have heard so much, but never saw him 
till now; of him I have received a new life; he has made himself 
to me a second father, giving me this dear lady.” 

“ Then I must be her father,” said the king; “ but oh! how oddly 
will it sound, that I must ask my child forgiveness.” 

“ No more of that,” said Prospero : “ let us not remember our 
troubles past, since they so happily have ended.” And then Pros- 
pero embraced his brother, and again assured him of his forgive- 
ness; and said that a wise, overruling Providence had permitted that 
he should be driven from his poor dukedom of Milan, that his 
daughter might inherit the crown of Naples, for that by their 
meeting in this desert island, it had happened that the king’s son 
had loved Miranda. 

These kind words which Prospero spoke, meaning to comfort his 
brother, so filled Antonio with shame and remorse that he wept 
and was unable to speak; and the kind old Gonzalo wept to see 
this joyful reconciliation, and prayed for blessings on the young 
couple. 

Prospero now told them that their ship was safe in the harbor, 
and the sailors all on board her, and that he and his daughter 
would accompany them home the next morning. 46 In the mean- 
time,” says he, “ partake of such refreshments as my poor cave 
affords; and for your evening’s entertainment I will relate the his- 
tory of my life from my first landing in this desert island.” He then 
called for Caliban to prepare some food, and set the cave in order; 
and the company were astonished at the uncouth form and the savage 
appearance of this ugly monster, who (Prospero said) was the 
only attendant he had to wait upon him. 

Before Prospero left the island, he dismissed Ariel from his ser- 
vice, to the great joy of that lively little spirit, who, though he had 
been a faithful servant to his master, was always longing to enjoy 
his free liberty, to wander uncontrolled in the air, like a wild bird, 
under green trees, among pleasant fruits and sweet-smelling flowers. 
“ My quaint Ariel,” said Prospero to the little sprite when he 
made him free, “I shall miss you; yet you shall have your free- 
dom.” “Thank you, my dear master,” said Ariel; u but give me 
leave to attend your ship home with prosperous gales, before you 
bid farewell to the assistance of your faithful spirit; and then, 
master, when I am free, how merrily shall I live! ” Here Ariel 
sung this pretty song: 


348 


Types of Childrens Literature 

“ Where the bee sucks, there suck I ; 

In a cowslip’s bell I lie; 

There 1 couch when owls do cry. 

On the bat’s back I do fly 
After summer merrily. 

Merrily, merrily shall 1 live now, 

Under the blossom that hangs on the bough.” 

Prospero then buried deep in the earth his magical books and 
wand, for he was resolved never more to make use of the magic 
art. And having thus overcome his enemies, and being reconciled 
to his brother and the king of Naples, nothing now remained to 
complete his happiness but to revisit his native land, to take pos- 
session of his dukedom, and to witness the happy nuptials of his 
daughter Miranda and Prince Ferdinand, which the king said should 
be instantly celebrated with great splendor on their return to Naples. 
At which place, under the safe convoy of the spirit Ariel, they, after 
a pleasant voyage, soon arrived. 


DIDACTIC STORIES 

THE PURPLE JAR 
Maria Edgeworth 

Rosamond, a little girl of about seven years old, was walking with 
her mother in the streets of London. As she passed along, she 
looked in at the windows of several shops, and she saw a great 
variety of different sorts of things, of which she did not know the 
use, or even the names. She wished to stop to look at them; but 
there was a great number of people in the streets, and a great many 
carts and carriages and wheelbarrows, and she was afraid to let go 
her mother’s hand. 

“ Oh ! mother, how happy I should be,” said she, as she passed a 
toy-shop, “ if I had all these pretty things ! ” 

“ What, all! Do you wish for them all, Rosamond? ” 

“ Yes, mamma, all.” 

As she spoke, they came to a milliner’s shop: the windows were 
hung with ribbons, and lace, and festoons of artificial flowers. 

“Oh! mamma, what beautiful roses! Won’t you buy some of 
them? ” 

“ No, my dear.” 

“ Why? ” 

“ Because I don’t want them, my dear.” 

They went a little farther, and they came to another shop, which 
caught Rosamond’s eye. It was a jeweler’s shop; and there were a 
great many pretty baubles, ranged in drawers behind glass. 

“ Mamma, you’ll buy some of these? ” 

“ Which of them, Rosamond? ” 

“ Which? I don’t know which; but any of them, for they are all 
pretty.” 

“Yes, they are all pretty; but of what use would they be to 
me? ” 

“Use! Oh, I’m sure you could find some use or other, if you 
would only buy them first.” 

“ But I would rather find out the use first.” 

Rosamond was very sorry that her mother wanted nothing. Pres- 
ently, however, they came to a shop, which appeared to her far 
more beautiful than the rest. It was a chemist’s shop; but she did 
not know that. 


349 


350 


Types of Children s Literature 

“Oh, mother! oh!” cried she, pulling her mother’s hand. 
“Look! look! blue, green, red, yellow, and purple! Oh, mamma, 
what beautiful things! Won’t you buy some of these? ” 

Still her mother answered as before, “ What use would they be to 
me, Rosamond? ” 

“ You might put flowers in them, mamma, and they would look 
so pretty on the chimney-piece. I wish I had one of them.” 

“ You have a flower-vase,” said her mother; “ and that is not for 
flowers.” 

“ But I could use it for a flower-vase, mamma, you know.” 

“ Perhaps if you were to see it nearer, if you were to examine it, 
you might be disappointed.” 

“No, indeed; I’m sure I should not. I should like it exceed- 
ingly.” 

Rosamond kept her head turned to look at the purple vase till she 
could see it no longer. 

“ Then, mother,” said she, after a pause, “ perhaps you have no 
money.” 

“ Yes, I have.” 

“ Dear me ! if I had money, I would buy roses, and boxes, and 
purple flower-pots, and everything.” Rosamond was obliged to 
pause in the midst of her speech. 

“ Oh, mamma, would you stop a minute for me? I have got a 
stone in my shoe; it hurts me very much.” 

“ How comes there to be a stone in your shoe? ” 

“ Because of this great hole, mamma — it comes in there : my 
shoes are quite worn out; I wish you’d be so very good as to give me 
another pair.” 

“ Nay, Rosamond, but I have not money enough to buy shoes, 
and flower-pots, and boxes, and everything.” 

Rosamond thought that was a great pity. But now her foot, which 
had been hurt by the stone, began to give her so much pain that she 
was obliged to hop every other step, and she could think of nothing 
else. They came to a shoemaker’s shop soon afterwards. 

“There! there! mamma, there are shoes — there are little shoes 
that would just fit me; and you know shoes would be really of use 
to me.” 

“ Yes, so they would, Rosamond. Come in.” 

She followed her mother into the shop. 

Mr. Sole, the shoemaker, had a great many customers, and his 
shop was full, so they were obliged to wait. 


Didactic Stories 351 

“ Well, Rosamond,” said her mother, “ you don’t think this shop 
so pretty as the rest? ” 

“No, not nearly; it’s black and dark, and there are nothing but 
shoes all round; and besides, there’s a very disagreeable smell.” 

“ That smell is the smell of new leather.” 

“Is it? Oh! ” said Rosamond, looking round, “there is a pair 
of little shoes; they’ll just fit me, I’m sure.” 

“ Perhaps they might, but you cannot be sure till you have tried 
them on, any more than you can be quite sure that you should like 
the purple vase exceedingly , till you have examined it more at- 
tentively.” 

“ Why, I don’t know about the shoes, certainly, till I’ve tried; but, 
mamma, I’m quite sure I should like the flower-pot.” 

“ Well, which would you rather have, that jar, or a pair of shoes? 
I will buy either for you.” 

“ Dear mamma, thank you — but if you could buy both? ” 

“ No, not both.” 

“ Then the jar, if you please.” 

“ But I should tell you that I shall not give you another pair of 
shoes this month.” 

“This month! that’s a very long time indeed. You can’t think 
how these hurt me. I believe I’d better have the new shoes — but 
yet,, that purple flower-pot — Oh, indeed, mamma, these shoes are 
not so very, very bad; I think I might wear them a little longer; 
and the month will soon be over: I can make them last to the end of 
the month, can’t I? Don’t you think so, mamma? ” 

“ Nay, my dear, I want you to think for yourself : you will have 
time enough to consider about it whilst I speak to Mr. Sole about my 
boots.” 

Mr. Sole was by this time at leisure; and whilst her mother was 
speaking to him, Rosamond stood in profound meditation, with one 
shoe on, and the other in her hand. 

“ Well, my dear, have you decided? ” 

“ Mamma! — yes — I believe. If you please — I should like the 
flower-pot; that is, if you won’t think me very silly, mamma.” 

“ Why, as to that, I can’t promise you, Rosamond ; but when you 
are to judge for yourself, you should choose what will make you the 
happiest; and then it would not signify who thought you silly.” 

“ Then, mamma, if that’s all, I’m sure the flower-pot would make 
me the happiest,” said she, putting on her old shoe again; “so I 
choose the flower-pot.” 


352 


Types of Childrens Literature 

“Very well, you shall have it: clasp your shoe and come home.” 

Rosamond clasped her shoe, and ran after her mother: it was not 
long before the shoe came down at the heel, and many times was she 
obliged to stop, to take the stones out of her shoe, and often wa 3 she 
obliged to hop with pain; but still the thoughts of the purple flower- 
pot prevailed, and she persisted in her choice. 

When they came to the shop with the large window, Rosamond 
felt her joy redouble, upon hearing her mother desire the servant, 
who was with them, to buy the purple jar, and bring it home. He 
had other commissions, so he did not return with them. Rosamond, 
as soon as she got in, ran to gather all her own flowers, which she 
had in a corner of her mother’s garden. 

“ I’m afraid they’ll be dead before the flower -pot comes, Rosa- 
mond,” said her mother to her, when she was coming in with the 
flowers in her lap. 

“No, indeed, mamma, it will come home very soon, I dare say; 
and shan’t I be very happy putting them into the purple flower- 
pot? ” 

“ I hope so, my dear.” 

The servant was much longer returning home than Rosamond had 
expected; but at length he came, and brought with him the long- 
wished-for jar. The moment it was set down upon the table, Rosa- 
mond ran up with an exclamation of joy. 

“ I may have it now, mamma? ” 

“ Yes, my dear, it is yours.” 

Rosamond poured the flowers from her lap upon the carpet, and 
seized the purple flower-pot. “Oh, dear mother!” cried she, as 
soon as she had taken off the top, “ but there’s something dark in it 
— it smells very disagreeable: what is in it? I didn’t want this 
black stuff.” 

“ Nor I neither, my dear.” 

“ But what shall I do with it, mamma? ” 

“ That I cannot tell.” 

“ But it will be of no use to me, mamma.” 

“ That I can’t help.” 

“ But I must pour it out, and fill the flower-pot with water.” 

“ That’s as you please, my dear.” 

“Will you lend me a bowl to pour it into, mamma? ” 

“That was more than I promised you, my dear; but I will lend 
you a bowl.” 

The bowl was produced, and Rosamond proceeded to empty the 


Didactic Stories 


353 


purple vase. But what was her surprise and disappointment, when it 
was entirely empty, to find that it was no longer a purple vase! It 
was a plain white glass jar, which had appeared to have that beauti- 
ful color merely from the liquor with which it had been filled. 

Little Rosamond burst into tears. 

“Why should you cry, my dear? ’’ said her mother; “it will be 
of as much use to you now as ever for a flower-vase.” 

“ But it won’t look so pretty on the chimney-piece. I am sure, if I 
had known that it was not really purple, I should not have wished 
to have it so much.” 

“ But didn’t I tell you that you had not examined it, and that 
perhaps you would be disappointed? ” 

“ And so I am disappointed indeed. I wish I had believed you 
beforehand. Now I had much rather have the shoes, for I shall not 
be able to walk all this month: even walking home that little way 
hurt me exceedingly. Mamma, I’ll give you the flower-pot back 
again, and that purple stuff and all, if you’ll only give me the shoes.” 

“ No, Rosamond, you must abide by your own choice; and now the 
best thing you can possibly do is to bear your disappointment with 
good-humor.” 

“ I will bear it as well as I can,” said Rosamond, wiping her eyes, 
and she began slowly and sorrowfully to fill the vase with flowers. 

But Rosamond’s disappointment did not end here: many were the 
difficulties and distresses into which her imprudent choice brought 
her before the end of the month. Every day her shoes grew worse 
and worse, till at last she could neither run, dance, jump, nor walk 
in them. Whenever Rosamond w r as called to see anything, she was 
pulling up her shoes at the heels, and was sure to be too late. When- 
ever her mother was going out to walk, she could not take Rosa- 
mond with her, for Rosamond had no soles to her shoes; and at 
length, on the very last day of the month, it happened that her father 
proposed to take her and her brother to a glass-house which she had 
long wished to see. She was very happy; but, when she was quite 
ready, had her hat and gloves on, and was making haste downstairs 
to her brother and father, who were waiting at the hall door for her, 
the shoe dropped off; she put it on again in a great hurry; but, as 
she was going across the hall, her father turned round. 

“ Why are you walking slipshod? no one must walk slipshod with 
me. Why, Rosamond,” said he, looking at her shoes with disgust, 
“ I thought that you were always neat. Go, I cannot take you with 


354 


Types of Childrens Literature 

Rosamond colored and retired. “ Oh, mamma, said she, as she 
took off her hat, “how I wish that I had chosen the shoes! they 
would have been of so much more use to me than that jar: however, 

I am sure — no, not quite sure — but I hope I shall be wiser an- 
other time.” 

DIFFERENCE AND AGREEMENT; OR, SUNDAY MORNING 
Dr. John Aiken and Mrs. Anna Letitia Barbauld 

It was Sunday morning. All the bells were ringing for church, 
and the streets were filled with people moving in all directions. 
Here, numbers of well-dressed persons and a long train of charity 
children were thronging in at the wide doors of a large, handsome 
church. There, a smaller number, almost equally gay in dress, were 
entering an elegant meeting-house. Up one alley, a Roman Catholic 
congregation was turning into their retired chapel, every one cross- 
ing himself with a finger dipped in holy water, as he went in. The 
opposite side of the street was covered with a train of Quakers, dis- 
tinguished by their plain and neat attire and sedate aspect, who 
walked without ceremony into a room as plain as themselves, and 
took their seats, the men on one side, and the women on the other, 
in silence. A spacious building was filled with an overflowing 
crowd of Methodists, most of them meanly habited, but decent and 
serious in demeanor; while a small society of Baptists in the neigh- 
borhood quietly occupied their humble place of assembly. 

Presently the different services began. The churches resounded 
with the solemn organ, and with the indistinct murmurs of a large 
body of people following the minister in responsive prayers. From 
the meeting were heard the slow psalm, and the single voice of 
the leader of their devotions. The Roman Catholic chapel was en- 
livened by strains of music, the tinkling of a small bell, and a per- 
petual change of service and ceremonial. A profound silence and 
unvarying look and posture announced the self-recollection and men- 
tal devotion of the Quakers. 

Mr. Ambrose led his son Edwin round all these different assem- 
blies as a spectator. Edwin viewed everything with great atten- 
tion, and was often impatient to inquire of his father the meaning of 
what he saw; but Mr. Ambrose would not suffer him to disturb 
any of the congregations even by a whisper. When they had gone 
through the whole, Edwin found a great number of questions to put 


Didactic Stories 


355 


to his father, who explained everything to him in the best manner 
he could. At length says Edwin : 

“ But why cannot all these people agree to go to the same place, 
and worship God the same way? ” 

“ And why should they agree? ” replied his father. “ Do not you 
see that people differ in a hundred other things? Do they all dress 
alike, and eat and drink alike, and keep the same hours, and use the 
same diversions? ” 

“ Ay — but those are things in which they have a right to do as 
they please.” 

“ And they have a right, too, to worship God as they please. It 
is their own business, and concerns none but themselves.” 

“ But has not God ordered particular ways of worshiping him? ” 

“ He has directed the mind and spirit with which he is to be wor- 
shiped, but not the particular form and manner. That is left for 
every one to choose, according as suits his temper and opinions. All 
these people like their own way best, and why should they leave it 
for the choice of another? Religion is one of the things in which 
mankind were made to differ .” 

The several congregations now began to be dismissed, and the 
street was again overspread with persons of all the different sects, 
going promiscuously to their respective homes. It chanced that a 
poor man fell down in the street in a fit of apoplexy, and lay for 
dead. His wife and children stood round him crying and lamenting 
in the bitterest distress. The beholders immediately flocked round, 
and, with looks and expressions of the warmest compassion, gave 
their help. A Churchman raised the man from the ground by lift- 
ing him under the arms, while a Dissenter held his head and wiped 
his face with his handkerchief. A Roman Catholic lady took out 
her smelling-bottle, and assiduously applied it to his nose. A Meth- 
odist ran for a doctor. A Quaker supported and comforted the 
woman ; and a Baptist took care of the children. 

Edwin and his father were among the spectators. “ Here,” said 
Mr. Ambrose, “ is a thing in which mankind were made to agree” 


356 Types of Children s Literature 

EYES, AND NO EYES; OR, THE ART OF SEEING 
Dr. John Aiken and Mrs. Anna Letitia Barbauld 

“Well, Robert, where have you been walking this afternoon? ” 
said Mr. Andrews to one of his pupils at the close of a holiday. 

R. I have been, sir, to Broom Heath, and so around by the wind- 
mill upon Camp Mount, and home through the meadows by the 
river side. 

Mr. A. Well, that’s a pleasant round. 

R. I thought it very dull, sir; I scarcely met with a single per- 
son. I had rather by half have gone along the turnpike road. 

Mr. A. Why, if seeing men and horses is your object, you would, 
indeed, be better entertained on the high road. But did you see 
William? 

R. We set out together, but he lagged behind in the lane, so I 
walked on, and left him. 

Mr. A. That was a pity. He would have been company for 
you. 

R. 0, he is so tedious, always stopping to look at this thing 
and that! I had rather walk alone. I dare say he is not got home 
yet. 

Mr. A. Here he comes. Well, William, where have you been? 

W. 0, sir, the pleasantest walk! I went all over Broom Heath, 
and so up to the mill at the top of the hill, and then down among 
the green meadows by the side of the river. 

Mr. A. Why, that is just the round Robert has been taking, and 
he complains of its dullness, and prefers the high road. 

W. I wonder at that. I am sure I hardly took a step that did 
not delight me, and I brought home my handkerchief full of 
curiosities. 

Mr. A. Suppose, then, you give us some account of what amused 
you so much. I fancy it will be as new to Robert as to me. 

W. I will, sir. The lane leading to the heath, you know, is close 
and sandy, so I did not mind it much, but made the best of my way. 
However, I spied a curious thing enough in the hedge. It was an 
old crab-tree, out of which grew a great bunch of something green, 
quite different from the tree itself. Here is a branch of it. 

Mr. A. Ah! this is mistletoe, a plant of great fame for the use 
made of it by the Druids of old in their religious rites and incanta- 
tions. It bears a very slimy white berry, of which birdlime may be 


Didactic Stories 


357 


made, whence its Latin name of viscus. It is one of those plants 
which do not grow in the ground by a root of their own, but fix 
themselves upon other plants; whence they have been humorously 
styled parasitical, as being hangers-on or dependants. It was the 
mistletoe of the oak that the Druids particularly honored. 

W. A little further on I saw a green woodpecker fly to a tree, 
and run up the trunk like a cat. 

Mr. A. That was to seek for insects in the bark, on which they 
live. They bore holes with their stYong bills for that purpose, and 
do much damage to the trees by it. 

W . What beautiful birds they are! 

Mr. A. Yes; they have been called from their color and size, 
the English parrot. 

W . When I got upon the open heath, how charming it was! The 
air seemed so fresh, and the prospect on every side so free and un- 
bounded! Then it was all covered with gay flowers, many of which 
I had never observed before. There were at least three kinds of 
heath (I have got them in my handkerchief here), and gorse, and 
broom, and bell-flower, and many others of all colors, that I will 
beg you presently to tell me the names of. 

Mr. A. That I will readily. 

W . I saw, too, several birds that were new to me. There was 
a pretty grayish one, of the size of a lark, that was hopping about 
some great stones; and when he flew he showed a great deal of white 
above his tail. 

Mr. A. That was a wheat-ear. They are reckoned very delicious 
birds to eat, and frequent the open downs in Sussex, and some other 
counties, in great numbers. 

W. There was a flock of lapwings upon a marshy part of the 
heath, that amused me much. As I came near them, some of them 
kept flying round and round just over my head, and crying “pewit” 
so distinctly one might almost fancy they spoke. I thought I should 
have caught one of them, for he flew as if one of his wings was 
broken, and often tumbled close to the ground ; but, as I came near, 
he always made a shift to get away. 

Mr. A. Ha, ha! you were finely taken in, then! This was all an 
artifice of the bird’s to entice you away from its nest; for they 
build upon the bare ground, and their nests would easily be ob- 
served, did they not draw off the attention of intruders by their loud 
cries and counterfeit lameness. 

W. I wish I had known that, for he led me a long chase, often 


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over shoes in water. However, it was the cause of my falling in with 
an old man and a boy who were cutting and piling up turf for fuel, 
and I had a good deal of talk with them about the manner of pre- 
paring the turf, and the price it sells at. They gave me, too, a 
creature I never saw before, — a young viper, which they had just 
killed, together with its dam. I have seen several common snakes, 
but this is thicker in proportion and of a darker color than they are. 

Mr. A. True. Vipers frequent those turfy boggy grounds, and I 
have known several turf -cutters bitten by them. 

W . They are very venomous, are they not? 

Mr. A. Enough so to make their wounds painful and dangerous, 
though they seldom prove fatal. 

W. Well — I then took my course up to the windmill on the 
mount. I climbed up the steps of the mill in order to get a better 
view of the country round. What an extensive prospect! I counted 
fifteen church steeples, and I saw several gentlemen’s houses peeping 
out from the midst of green woods and plantations; and I could 
trace the windings of the river all along the low grounds, till it was 
lost behind a ridge of hills. But I’ll tell you what I mean to do, 
sir, if you will give me leave. 

Mr. A. What is that? 

W. I will go again, and take with me Carey’s county map, by 
which I shall probably be able to make out most of the places. 

Mr. A. You shall have it, and I will go with you, and take my 
pocket spying-glass. 

W. I shall be very glad of that. Well — a thought struck me, 
that as the hill is called Camp Mount, there might probably be some 
remains of ditches and mounds with which I have read that camps 
were surrounded. And I really believe I discovered something of 
that sort running round one side of the mount. 

Mr. A. Very likely you might. I know antiquaries have de- 
scribed such remains as existing there, which some suppose to be 
Roman, others Danish. We will examine them further, when we 
g°- 

W. From the hill I went straight down to the meadows below, 
and walked on the side of a brook that runs into the river. It was 
all bordered with reeds and flags, and tall flowering plants, quite 
different from those I had seen on the heath. As I was getting 
down the bank co reach one of them, I heard something plunge into 
the water near me. It was a large water-rat, and I saw it swim 
over to the other side, and go into its hole. There were a great 


Didactic Stories 


359 


many large dragon-flies all about the stream. I caught one of the 
finest, and have him here in a leaf. But how I longed to catch a 
bird that I saw hovering over the water, and every now and then 
darting down into it! It was all over a mixture of the most beauti- 
ful green and blue, with some orange color. It was somewhat less 
than a thrush, and had a large head and bill, and a short tail. 

Mr. A. I can tell you what that bird was — a kingfisher, the 
celebrated halcyon of the ancients, about which so many tales are 
told. It lives on fish, which it catches in the manner you saw. It 
builds in holes in the banks, and is a shy, retired bird, never to be 
seen far from the stream where it inhabits. 

W . I must try to get another sight of him, for I never saw a bird 
that pleased me so much. Well - — I followed this little brook till 
it entered the river, and then took the path that runs along the bank. 
On the opposite side I observed several little birds running along the 
shore, and making a piping noise. They were brown and white, and 
about as big as a snipe. 

Mr. A. I suppose they were sandpipers, one of the numerous 
family of birds that get their living by wading among the shallows, 
and picking up worms and insects. 

W. There were a great many swallows, too, sporting upon the 
surface of the water, that entertained me with their motions. Some- 
times they dashed into the stream; sometimes they pursued one an- 
other so quick, that the eye could scarcely follow them. In one 
place, where a high, steep sandbank rose directly above the river, I 
observed many of them go in and out of holes with which the bank 
was bored full. 

Mr. A. Those were sand martins, the smallest of our species of 
swallows. They are of a mouse-color above, and white beneath. 
They make their nests and bring up their young in these holes, which 
run a great depth, and by their situation are secure from all 
plunderers. 

W. A little further on I saw a man in a boat, who was catching 
eels in an odd way. He had a long pole, with broad iron prongs at 
the end, just like Neptune’s trident, only there were five instead of 
three. This he pushed straight down among the mud, in the deep- 
est parts of the river, and fetched up the eels, sticking between the 
prongs. 

Mr. A. I have seen this method. It is called spearing of eels. 

W. While I was looking at him, a heron came flying over my 
head, with his large flagging wings. He lit at the next turn of the 


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Types of Childrens Literature 

river, and I crept softly behind the bank to watch his motions. He 
had waded into the water as far as his long legs would carry him, 
and was standing with his neck drawn in, looking intently on the 
stream. Presently he darted his long bill as quick as lightning into 
the water, and drew out a fish, which he swallowed. I saw him 
catch another in the same manner. He then took alarm at some 
noise I made, and flew away slowly to a wood at some distance, 
where he alighted. 

Mr. A. Probably his nest was there, for herons build upon the 
loftiest trees they can find, and sometimes in society together, like 
rooks. Formerly, when these birds were valued for the amusement 
of hawking, many gentlemen had their heronries, and a few are still 
remaining. 

W . I think they are the largest wild birds we have. 

Mr. A. They are of a great length and spread of wing, but their 
bodies are comparatively small. 

W . I then turned homeward across the meadows, where I stopped 
awhile to look at a large flock of starlings, which kept flying about 
at no great distance. I could not tell at first what to make of them; 
for they rose all together from the ground as thick as a swarm of 
bees, and formed themselves into a kind of black cloud, hovering 
over the field. After taking a short round, they settled again, and 
presently rose again in the same manner. I dare say there were 
hundreds of them. 

Mr. A. Perhaps so; for in the fenny countries their flocks are so 
numerous, as to break down whole acres of reeds by settling on them. 
This disposition of starlings to fly in close swarms was observed 
even by Homer, who compares the foe flying from one of his heroes 
to a cloud of stares retiring dismayed at the approach of- the hawk. 

W. After I had left the meadows, I crossed the corn-fields in the 
way to our house, and passed close by a deep marie pit. Looking 
into it, I saw in one of the sides a cluster of what I took to be 
shells; and upon going down, I picked up a clod of marie, which 
was quite full of them; but how sea-shells could get there, I cannot 
imagine. 

Mr. A. I do not wonder at your surprise, since many philos- 
ophers have been much perplexed to account for the same appear- 
ance. It is not uncommon to find great quantities of shells and 
relics of marine animals even in the bowels of high mountains, very 
remote from the sea. They are certainly proofs that the earth was 
once in a very different state from what it is at present; but in what 


Didactic Stories 361 

manner and how long ago these changes took place can only be 
guessed at. 

W. I got to the high field next our house just as the sun was 
setting, and I stood looking at it till it was quite lost. What a 
glorious sight! The clouds were tinged purple and crimson and 
yellow of all shades and hues, and the clear sky varied from blue to 
a fine green at the horizon. But how large the sun appears just as it 
sets! I think it seems twice as big as when it is overhead. 

Mr. A. It does so; and you may probably have observed the 
same apparent enlargement of the moon at its rising. 

W . I have; but pray what is the reason of this? 

Mr. A. It is an optical deception, depending upon principles 
which I cannot well explain to you till you know more of that 
branch of science. But what a number of new ideas this after- 
noon’s walk has afforded you! I do not wonder that you found it 
amusing; it has been very instructive, too. Did you see nothing of 
all these sights, Robert? 

R. I saw some of them, but I did not take particular notice of 
them. 

Mr. A. Why not? 

R. I don’t know. I did not care about them, and I made the 
best of my way home. 

Mr. A. That would have been right if you had been sent of a 
message; but as you only walked for amusement, it would have been 
wiser to have sought out as many sources of it as possible. But so 
it is — one man walks through the world with his eyes open, and 
another with them shut; and upon this difference depends all the 
superiority of knowledge the one acquires above the other. I have 
known sailors, who had been in all the quarters of the world, and 
could tell you nothing but the signs of the tippling-houses they fre- 
quented in different ports, and the price and quality of the liquor. 
On the other hand, a Franklin could not cross the Channel, without 
making some observations useful to mankind. While many a va- 
cant, thoughtless youth is whirled throughout Europe without gain- 
ing a single idea worth crossing a street for, the observing eye and 
inquiring mind find matter of improvement and delight in every 
ramble in town or country. Do you , then, William, continue to 
make use of your eyes; and you, Robert, learn that eyes were given 
you to use. 





















ANIMAL SKETCHES AND STORIES 

RAB AND HIS FRIENDS 
John Brown 

Four-and-thirty years ago, Bob Ainslie and I were coming up In- 
firmary Street from the High School, our heads together, and our 
arms intertwisted, as only lovers and boys know how, or why. 

When we got to the top of the street, and turned north, we espied 
a crowd at the Tron Church. “ A dog-fight! ” shouted Bob, and was 
off; and so was I, both of us all but praying that it might not be over 
before we got up! And is not this boy-nature? and human nature 
too? and don’t we all wish a house on fire not to be out before we 
see it? Dogs like fighting; old Isaac says they “delight” in it, 
and for the best of all reasons; and boys are not cruel because 
they like to see the fight. They see three of the great cardinal virtues 
of dog or man — courage, endurance, and skill — in intense action. 
This is very different from a love of making dogs fight, and en- 
joying, and aggravating, and making gain by their pluck. A boy — 
be he ever so fond himself of fighting, if he be a good boy, hates 
and despises all this, but he would have run off with Bob and me fast 
enough; it is a natural, and a not wicked interest, that all boys and 
men have in witnessing intense energy in action. 

Does any curious and finely-ignorant woman wish to know how 
Bob’s eye at a glance announced a dog-fight to his brain? He did 
not, he could not see the dogs fighting; it was a flash of an inference, 
a rapid induction. The crowd round a couple of dogs fighting, is 
a crowd masculine mainly, with an occasional active, compassionate 
woman fluttering wildly round the outside, and using her tongue and 
her hands freely upon the men, as so many “ brutes ”; it is a crowd 
annular, compact, and mobile; a crowd centripetal, having its eyes 
and its heads all bent downwards and inwards, to one common 
focus. 

Well, Bob and I are up, and find it is not over: a small thorough- 
bred, white bull-terrier is busy throttling a large shepherd’s dog, 
unaccustomed to war, but not to be trifled with. They are hard at 
it; the scientific little fellow doing his work in great style, his pas- 
toral enemy fighting wildly, but with the sharpest of teeth and a 
great courage. Science and breeding, however, soon had their own ; 
the Game Chicken, as the premature Bob called him, working his 

363 


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Types of Childrens Literature 

way up, took his final grip of poor Yarrow’s throat, — and he lay 
gasping and done for. His master, a brown, handsome, big young 
shepherd from Tweedsmuir, would have liked to have knocked down 
any man, would “ drink up Esil, or eat a crocodile,” for that part, if 
he had a chance: it was no use kicking the little dog; that would 
only make him hold the closer. Many were the means shouted out 
in mouthfuls, of the best possible ways of ending it. 44 Water! ” but 
there was none near, and many cried for it who might have got it 
from the well at Blackfriars Wynd. 44 Bite the tail! ” and a large, 
vague, benevolent, middle-aged man, more desirous than wise, with 
some struggle got the bushy end of Yarrow’s tail into his ample 
mouth, and bit it with all his might. This was more than enough 
for the much-enduring, much perspiring shepherd, who, with a 
gleam of joy over his broad visage, delivered a terrific facer upon our 
large, vague, benevolent, middle-aged friend, — who went down like 
a shot. 

Still the Chicken holds; death not far off. 44 Snuff! a pinch of 
snuff! ” observed a calm, highly-dressed young buck, with an eye- 
glass in his eye. 44 Snuff, indeed! ” growled the angry crowd, af- 
fronted and glaring. 44 Snuff, a pinch of snuff! ” again observes the 
buck, but with more urgency; whereon were produced several open 
boxes, and from a mull which may have been at Culloden, he took a 
pinch, knelt down, and presented it to the nose of the Chicken. The 
laws of physiology and of snuff take their course; the Chicken 
sneezes, and Yarrow is free! 

The young pastoral giant stalks off with Yarrow in his arms, — 
comforting him. 

But the Bull Terrier’s blood is up, and his soul unsatisfied; he 
grips the first dog he meets, and discovering she is not a dog, in 
Homeric phrase, he makes a brief sort of amende , and is off. The 
boys, with Bob and me at their head, are after him: down Niddry 
Street he goes, bent on mischief ; up the Cowgate like an arrow — 
Bob and I, and our small men, panting behind. 

There, under the single arch of the South Bridge, is a huge 
mastiff, sauntering down the middle of the causeway, as if with his 
hands in his pockets: he is old, gray, brindled, as big as a little High- 
land bull, and has the Shakespearian dewlaps shaking as he goes. 

The Chicken makes straight at him, and fastens on his throat. 
To our astonishment, the great creature does nothing but stand still, 
hold himself up, and roar — yes, roar; a long, serious, remonstrative 
roar. How is this? Bob and I are up to them. He is muzzled! 


Animal Sketches and Stories 


365 


The bailies had proclaimed a general muzzling, and his master, 
studying strength and economy mainly, had encompassed his huge 
jaws in a home-made apparatus, constructed out of the leather of 
some ancient breechin. His mouth was open as far as it could; 
his lips curled up in rage — a sort of terrible grin; his teeth gleam- 
ing, ready, from out the darkness; the strap across his mouth tense 
as a bowstring; his whole frame stiff with indignation and surprise; 
his roar asking us all round, “ Did you ever see the like of this? ” 
He looked a statue of anger and astonishment, done in Aberdeen 
granite. 

We soon had a crowd: the Chicken held on. “A knife! ” cried 
Bob; and a cobbler gave him his knife: you know the kind of 
knife, worn away obliquely to a point, and always keen. I put its 
edge to the tense leather ; it ran before it ; and then ! — one sudden 
jerk of that enormous head, a sort of dirty mist about his mouth, 
no noise, — and the bright and fierce little fellow is dropped, limp 
and dead. A solemn pause: this was more than, any of us had 
bargained for. I turned the little fellow over, and saw he was 
quite dead: the mastiff had taken him by the small of the back like 
a rat, and broken it. 

He looked down at his victim appeased, ashamed, and amazed; 
snuffed him all over; stared at him, and taking a sudden thought, 
turned round and trotted off. Bob took the dead dog up, and said, 
“ John, we’ll bury him after tea.” “ Yes,” said I, and was off after 
the mastiff. He made up the Cowgate at a rapid swing; he had for- 
gotten some engagement. He turned up the Candlemaker Row, and 
stopped at the Harrow Inn. 

There was a carrier’s cart ready to start, and a keen, thin, im- 
patient, black-a-vised little man, his hand at his gray horse’s head, 
looking about angrily for something. 44 Rab, ye thief! ” said he, 
aiming a kick at my great friend, who drew cringing up, and avoid- 
ing the heavy shoe with more agility than dignity, and watching his 
master’s eye, slunk dismayed under the cart, — his ears down, and 
as much as he had of tail down too. 

What a man this must be — thought I — to whom my tremen- 
dous hero turns tail ! The carrier saw the muzzle hanging, cut and 
useless, from his neck, and I eagerly told him the story, which Bob 
and I always thought, and still think, Homer, or King David, or 
Sir Walter, alone were worthy to rehearse. The severe little man 
was mitigated, and condescended to say, 44 Rab, ma man, puir Rab- 
bie,” — whereupon the stump of a tail rose up, the ears were cocked, 


366 


Types of Children s Literature 

the eyes filled, and were comforted; the two friends were recon- 
ciled. “Hupp! ” and a stroke of the whip were given to Jess; and 
off went the three. 

Bob and I buried the Game Chicken that night (we had not much 
of a tea) in the back-green of his house in Melville Street, No. 17, 
with considerable gravity and silence; and being at the time in the 
Iliad, and, like all boys, Trojans, we of course called him Hector. 


Six years have passed, — a long time for a boy and a dog: Bob 
Ainslie is off to the wars; I am a medical student, and clerk at Minto 
House Hospital. 

Rab I saw almost every week, on the Wednesday; and we had 
much pleasant intimacy. I found the way to his heart by frequent 
scratching of his huge head, and an occasional bone. When I did 
not notice him hie would plant himself straight before me, and stand 
wagging that bud of a tail, and looking up, with his head a little to 
the one side. His master I occasionally saw; he used to call me 
“ Maister John,” but was laconic as any Spartan. 

One fine October afternoon, I was leaving the hospital, when I 
saw the large gate open, and in walked Rab, with that great and 
easy saunter of his. He looked as if taking general possession of 
the place; like the Duke of Wellington entering a subdued city, 
satiated with victory and peace. After him came Jess, now white 
from age, with her cart; and in it a woman carefully wrapped up, 
— the carrier leading the horse anxiously, and looking back. When 
he saw me, James (for his name was James Noble) made a curt 
and grotesque “boo,” and said, “ Maister John, this is the mistress; 
she’s got a trouble in her breest — some kind o’ an income we’re 
thinkin’.” 

By this time I saw the woman’s face; she was sitting on a sack 
filled with straw, her husband’s plaid round her, and his big-coat, 
with its large white metal buttons, over her feet. 

I never saw a more unforgetable face — pale, serious, lonely , x 
delicate, sweet, without being at all what we call fine. She looked 
sixty, and had on a mutch, white as snow, with its black ribbon; her 
silvery, smooth hair setting off her dark-gray eyes — eyes such as 

1 It is not easy giving this look by one word ; it was expressive of her being 
so much of her life alone. 


Animal Sketches and Stories 


367 


one sees only twice or thrice in a lifetime, full of suffering, full also 
of the overcoming of it: her eyebrows 1 black and delicate, and her 
mouth firm, patient, and contented, which few mouths ever are. 

As I have said, I never saw a more beautiful countenance, or one 
more subdued to settled quiet. 44 Ailie,” said James, 44 this is Mais- 
ter John, the young doctor; Rab’s freend, ye ken. We often speak 
aboot you, doctor.” She smiled, and made a movement, but said 
nothing; and prepared to come down, putting her plaid aside and 
rising. Had Solomon, in all his glory, been handing down the 
Queen of Sheba at his palace gate, he could not have done it more 
daintily, more tenderly, more like a gentleman, than did James the 
Howgate carrier, when he lifted down Ailie his wife. The contrast 
of his small, swarthy, weather-beaten, keen, worldly face to hers — 
pale, subdued, and beautiful — was something wonderful. Rab 
looked on concerned and puzzled, but ready for anything that might 
turn up, — were it to strangle the nurse, the porter, or even me. 
Ailie and he seemed great friends. 

44 As I was sayin’, she’s got a kind o’ trouble in her breest, doc- 
tor; wull ye tak’ a look at it? ” We walked into the consulting- 
rOom, all four; Rab grim and comic, willing to be happy and con- 
fidential if cause could be shown, willing also to be the reverse, on 
the same terms. Ailie sat down, undid her open gown and her lawn 
handkerchief round her neck, and, without a word, showed me her 
right breast. I looked at and examined it carefully, — she and James 
watching me, and Rab eyeing all three. What could I say? there it 
was, that had once been so soft, so shapely, so white, so gracious and 
bountiful, so 44 full of all blessed conditions,”— hard as a stone, a 
center of horrid pain, making that pale face, with its gray, lucid, 
reasonable eyes, and its sweet resolved mouth, express the full 
measure of suffering overcome. Why was that gentle, modest, sweet 
woman, clean and lovable, condemned by God to bear such a 
burden? 

I got her away to bed. 44 May Rab and me bide? ” said James. 
44 You may; and Rab, if he will behave himself.” 44 1’se warrant he’s 
do that, doctor ”; and in slunk the faithful beast. I wish you could 

1 “ Black brows, they say, 

Become some women best, so that there be not 
Too much hair there, but in a semicircle, 

Or a half-moon made with a pen” 

— A Winter's Tale 


368 


Types of Childrens Literature 

have seen him. There are no such dogs now. He belonged to a 
lost tribe. As I have said, he was brindle, and gray like Rubislaw 
granite, his hair short, hard, and close, like a lion’s; his body thick 
set, like a little bull — a sort of compressed Hercules of a dog. 
He must have been ninety pounds’ weight, at the least; he had a 
large blunt head, his muzzle black as night, his mouth blacker than 
any night, a tooth or two — being all he had — gleaming out of his 
jaws of darkness. His head was scarred with the records of old 
wounds, a sort of series of fields of battle all over it; one eye out, 
one ear cropped as close as was Archbishop Leighton’s father’s; the 
remaining eye had the power of two; and above it, and in constant 
communication with it, was a tattered rag of an ear which was forever 
unfurling itself, like an old flag; and then that bud of a tail, about 
one inch long, if it could in any sense be said to be long, being as 
broad as long — the mobility, the instantaneousness of that bud were 
very funny and surprising, and its expressive twinklings and wink- 
ings, the intercommunications between the eye, the ear, and it, were 
of the oddest and swiftest. 

Rab had the dignity and simplicity of great size; and having 
fought his way all along the road to absolute supremacy, he was as 
mighty in his own line as Julius Caesar or the Duke of Wellington, 
and had the gravity 1 of all great fighters. 

You must have often observed the likeness of certain men to cer- 
tain animals, and of certain dogs to men. Now, I never looked at 
Rab without thinking of the great Baptist preacher, Andrew Fuller . 2 
The same ltrrge, heavy menacing, combative somber, honest counte- 
nance, the same deep inevitable eye, the same look, — as of thunder 
asleep, but ready, — neither a dog nor a man to be trifled with. 

Next day, my master, the surgeon, examined Ailie. There was 

*A Highland game-keeper, when asked why a certain terrier, of singular 
pluck, was so much more solemn than the other dogs, said, “ Oh, Sir, life’s full 
o’ sairiousness to him — he just never can get enuff o’ fechtin’.” 

2 Fuller was, in early life, when a farmer lad at Soham, famous as a boxer; 
not quarrelsome, but not without “the stern delight” a man of strength and 
courage feels in their exercise. Dr. Charles Stewart, of Dunearn, whose rare 
gifts and graces as a physician, a divine, a scholar, and a gentleman, live only 
in the memory of those few who knew and survive him, liked to tell how Mr. 
F uller used to say, that when he was in the pulpit, and saw a buirdly man 
come along the passage, he would instinctively draw himself up, measure his 
imaginary antagonist, and forecast how he would deal with him, his hands 
meanwhile condensing into fists, and tending to “ square.” He must have been 
a hard hitter if he boxed as he preached — what “ The Fancy ” would call “ an 
ugly customer.” 


369 


Animal Sketches and Stories 

no doubt it must kill her, and soon. It could be removed — it 
might never return — it would give her speedy relief — she should 
have it done. She curtsied, looked at James, and said, “When? ” 
“Tomorrow,” said the kind surgeon — a man of few words. She 
and James and Rab and I retired. I noticed that he and she spoke 
little, but seemed to anticipate everything in each other. The fol- 
lowing day, at noon, the students came in hurrying up the great 
stair. At the first landing-place, on a small well-known blackboard, 
was a bit of paper fastened by wafers, and many remains of old 
wafers beside it. On the paper were the words, — “ An operation 
today. — J. B. Clerk” 

Up ran the youths, eager to secure good places: in they crowded, 
full of interest and talk. “ What’s the case? ” “ Which side is it? ” 

Don’t think them heartless; they are neither better nor worse than 
you or I; they get over their professional horrors, and into their 
proper work; and in them pity, as an emotion , ending in itself or 
at best in tears and a long-drawn breath, lessens, — while pity as 
a motive is quickened, and gains power and purpose. It is well 
for poor human nature that it is so. 

The operating theater is crowded; much talk and fun, and all 
the cordiality and stir of youth. The surgeon with his staff of 
assistants is there. In comes Ailie: one look at her quiets and 
abates the eager students. That beautiful old woman is too much 
for them; they sit down, and are dumb, and gaze at her. These 
rough boys feel the power of her presence. She walks in quickly, 
but without haste; dressed in her mutch, her neckerchief, her white, 
dimity short-gown, her black bombazine petticoat, showing her 
white worsted stockings and her carpet-shoes. Behind her was 
James with Rab. James sat down in the distance, and took that 
huge and noble head between his knees. Rab looked perplexed and 
dangerous; forever cocking his ear and dropping it as fast. 

Ailie stepped up on a seat, and laid herself on the table, as her 
friend the surgeon told her; arranged herself, gave a rapid look 
at James, shut her eyes, rested herself on me, and took my hand. 
The operation was at once begun; it was necessarily slow; and 
chloroform one of God’s best gifts to his suffering children — 
was then unknown. The surgeon did his work. The pale face 
showed its pain, but was still and silent. Rab’s soul was working 
within him; he saw that something strange was going on, — blood 
flowing from his mistress, and she suffering; his ragged ear was up, 
and importunate; he growled and gave now and then a sharp 


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impatient yelp; he would have liked to have done something to that 
man. But James had him firm, and gave him a glower from time 
to time, and an intimation of a possible kick; — all the better for 
James, it kept his eye and his mind off Ailie. 

It is over: she is dressed, steps gently and decently down from 
the table, looks for James; then turning to the surgeon and the 
students, she curtsies, — and in a low, clear voice, begs their pardon 
if she has behaved ill. The students — all of us — wept like 
children ; the surgeon happed her up carefully, — and, resting on 
James and me, Ailie went to her room. Rab following. We put her 
to bed. James took off his heavy shoes, crammed with tackets, heel- 
capt and toe-capt, and put them carefully under the table, saying, 
“ Maister John, I’m for nane o’ yer strynge nurse bodies for Ailie. 
I’ll be her nurse, and I’ll gang aboot on my stockin’ soles as canny 
as pussy.” And so he did; and handy and clever, and swift and 
tender as any woman, was that horny-handed, snell, peremptory 
little man. Everything she got he gave her: he seldom slept; and 
often I saw his small shrewd eyes out of the darkness, fixed on her. 
As before, they spoke little. 

Rab behaved well, never moving, showing us how meek and 
gentle he could be, and occasionally, in his sleep, letting us know 
that he was demolishing some adversary* He took a walk with 
me every day, generally to the Candlemaker Row ; but he was somber 
and mild; declined doing battle, though some fit cases offered, and 
indeed submitted to sundry indignities; and was always very ready 
to turn, and came faster back, and trotted up the stair with much 
lightness, and went straight to that door. 

Jess, the mare, had been sent, with her weather-worn cart, to 
Howgate, and had doubtless her own dim and placid meditations 
and confusions, on the absence of her master and Rab, and her 
unnatural freedom from the road and her cart. 

For some days Ailie did well. The wound healed “by the first 
intention”; for as James said, “ Oor Ailie’s skin’s ower clean to 
beil.” The students came in quiet and anxious, and surrounded her 
bed. She said she liked to see their young, honest faces. The 
surgeon dressed her, and spoke to her in his own short kind way, 
pitying her through his eyes, Rab and James outside the circle,— 
Rab being now reconciled, and even cordial, and having made up 
his mind that as yet nobody required worrying, but, as you may 
suppose, semper paratus. 

So far well: but, four days after the operation, my patient had 


Animal Sketches and Stories 


371 


a sudden and long shivering, a “ groosin’,” as she called it. I saw 
her soon after; her eyes were too bright, her cheek colored; she 
was restless, and ashamed of being so; the balance was lost; mischief 
had begun. On looking at the wound, a blush of red told the secret: 
her pulse was rapid, her breathing anxious and quick, she wasn’t 
herself, as she said, and was vexed at her restlessness. We tried 
what we could. James did everything, was everywhere; never in 
the way, never out of it; Rab subsided under the table into a dark 
place, and was motionless, all but his eye, which followed every 
one. Ailie got worse; began to wander in her mind, gently; was 
more demonstrative in her ways to James, rapid in her questions, 
and sharp at times. He was vexed, and said, “ She was never that 
way afore, no, never.” For a time she knew her head was wrong, 
and was always asking our pardon — the dear gentle old woman: 
then delirium set in strong, without pause. Her brain gave way, 
and then came that terrible spectacle, 

“ The intellectual power, through words and things, 

Went sounding on, a dim and perilous way; ” 

she sang bits of old songs and Psalms, stopping suddenly, mingling 
the Psalms of David, and the diviner words of his Son and Lord, 
with homely odds and ends and scraps of ballads. 

Nothing more touching, or in a sense more strangely beautiful, 
did I ever witness. Her tremulous, rapid, affectionate, eager Scotch 
voice, — the swift, aimless, bewildered mind, the baffled utterance, 
the bright and perilous eye; some wild words, some household cares, 
something for James, the names of the dead, Rab called rapidly 
and in a “ fremyt ” voice, and he starting up, surprised, and slinking 
off as if he were to blame somehow, or had been dreaming he heard. 
Many eager questions and beseechings which James and I could 
make nothing of, and on which she seemed to set her all, and then 
sink back ununderstood. It was very sad, but better than many 
things that are not called sad. James hovered about, put out and 
miserable, but active and exact as ever; read to her, when there was 
a lull, short bits from the Psalms, prose and meter, chanting the 
latter in his own rude and serious way, showing great knowledge of 
the fit words, bearing up like a man, and doting over her as his “ ain 
Ailie.” “Ailie, ma woman! ” “ Ma ain bonnie wee dawtie! ” 

The end was drawing on: the golden bowl was breaking; the 
silver cord was fast being loosed — that animula , blandula , vagula , 
hospes, comesque, was about to flee. The body and the soul — 


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Types of Childrens Literature 

companions for sixty years — were being sundered, and taking leave. 
She was walking, aJone, through the valley of that shadow, into 
which one day we must all enter, — and yet she was not alone, for 
we know whose rod and staff were comforting her. 

One night she had fallen quiet, and as we hoped, asleep; her eyes 
were shut. We put down the gas, and sat watching her. Sud- 
denly she sat up in bed, and taking a bed-gown which was lying 
on it rolled up, she held it eagerly to her breast, — to the right side. 
We could see her eyes bright with a surprising tenderness and joy, 
bending over this bundle of clothes. She held it as a woman holds 
her sucking child; opening out her night-gown impatiently, and 
holding it close, and brooding over it, and murmuring foolish little 
words, as over one whom his mother comforteth, and who sucks and 
is satisfied. It was pitiful and strange to see her wasted dying 
look, keen and yet vague — her immense love. 

“Preserve me!” groaned James, giving way. And then she 
rocked back and forward, as if to make it sleep, hushing it, and 
wasting on it her infinite fondness. “ Wae’s me, doctor; I declare 
she’s thinkin’ it’s that bairn.” “What bairn? ” “The only bairn 
we ever had; our wee Mysie, and she’s in the Kingdom forty years 
and mair.” It was plainly true: the pain in the breast, telling its 
urgent story to a bewildered, ruined brain, was misread and mis- 
taken; it suggested, to her the uneasiness of a breast full of milk, 
and then the child; and so again once more they were together, and 
she had her ain wee Mysie in her bosom. 

This was the close. She sank rapidly: the delirium left her; but, 
as she whispered, she was “ clean silly ”; it was the lightening before 
the final darkness. After having for some time lain still — her 
eyes shut, she said, “James! ” He came close to her, and lifting 
up her calm, clear, beautiful eyes, she gave him a long look, turned 
to me kindly but shortly, looked for Rab but could not see him, then 
turned to her husband again, as if she would never leave off looking, 
shut her eyes and composed herself. She lay for some time breath- 
ing quick, and passed away so gently, that when we thought she was 
gone, James, in his old-fashioned way, held the mirror to her face. 
After a long pause, one small spot of dimness was breathed out; 
it vanished away, and never returned, leaving the blank clear dark- 
ness without a stain. “ What is our life? it is even a vapor, which 
appeareth for a little time, and then vanisheth away.” 

Rab all this time had been full awake and motionless: he came 
forward beside us: Ailie’s hand which James had held, was hanging 


Animal Sketches and Stories 373 

down, it was soaked with his tears; Rab licked it all over carefully, 
looked at her, and returned to his place under the table. 

James and I sat, I don’t know how long, but for some time, — 
saying nothing; he started up abruptly, and with some - noise went to 
the table, and putting his right fore and middle fingers each into a 
shoe, pulled them out, and put them on, breaking one of the leather 
latchets, and muttering in anger, “ I never did the like o’ that afore ! ” 

I believe he never did ; nor after either. “ Rab ! ” he said roughly, 
and pointing with his thumb to the bottom of the bed. Rab leapt up, 
and settled himself ; his head and eye to the dead face. “ Maister 
John, ye’ll wait for me,” said the carrier; and disappeared in the 
darkness, thundering downstairs in his heavy shoes. I ran to a 
front window: there he was, already round the house, and out at the 
gate, fleeing like a shadow. 

I was afraid about him, and yet not afraid; so I sat down beside 
Rab, and being wearied, fell asleep. I awoke from a sudden noise 
outside. It was November, and there had been a heavy fall of snow. 
Rab was in statu quo; he heard the noise too, and plainly knew it, 
but never moved. I looked out; and there, at the gate, in the dim 
morning — for the sun was not up, was Jess and the cart, — a cloud 
of steam rising from the old mare. I did not see James; he was 
already at the door, and came up the stairs and met me. It was 
less than three hours since he left, and he must have posted out — 
who knows how? — to Howgate, full nine miles off; yoked Jess, 
and driven her astonished into town. He had an armful of blankets, 
and was streaming with perspiration. He nodded to me, spread 
out on the floor two pairs of clean old blankets having at their 
corners, “ A. G., 1794,” in large letters in red worsted. These were 
the initials of Alison Graeme, and James may have looked in at her 
from without — himself unseen but not unthought of — when he was 
“ wat, wat, and weary,” and after having walked many a mile over 
the hills, may have seen her sitting, while “ a’ the lave were sleepin’,” 
and by the firelight working her name on the blankets, for her ain 
James’s bed. 

He motioned Rab down, and taking his wife in his arms, laid her 
in the blankets, and happed her carefully and firmly up, leaving the 
face uncovered; and then lifting her, he nodded again sharply to 
me, and with a resolved but utterly miserable face, strode along the 
passage, and downstairs, followed by Rab. I followed with a light; 
but he didn’t need it. I went out, holding stupidly the candle in 
my hand in the calm frosty air; we were soon at the gate. I could 


374 


Types of Children s Literature 

have helped him, but I saw he was not to be meddled with, and 
he was strong, and did not need it. He laid her down as tenderly, 
as safely, as he had lifted her out ten days before — as tenderly as 
when he had her first in his arms when she was only “A. G.” — 
sorted her, leaving that beautiful sealed face open to the heavens; 
and then taking Jess by the head, he moved away. He did not 
notice me, neither did Rab, who presided behind the cart. 

I stood till they passed through the long shadow of the College, 
and turned up Nicolson Street. I heard the solitary cart sound 
through the streets, and die away and come again; and I returned, 
thinking of that company going up Libberton Brae, then along 
Roslin Muir, the morning light touching the Pentlands, and making 
them like on-looking ghosts; then down the hill through Auchin- 
dinny woods, past “ haunted Woodhouselee ”; and as daybreak came 
sweeping up the bleak Lammermuirs, and fell on his own door, the 
company would stop, and James would take the key, and lift Ailie 
up again, laying her on her own bed, and, having put Jess up, would 
return with Rab and shut the door. 

James buried his wife, with his neighbors mourning, Rab watch- 
ing the proceedings from a distance. It was snow, and that black 
ragged hole would look strange in the midst of the swelling spotless 
cushion of white. James looked after everything; then rather sud- 
denly fell ill, and took to bed; was insensible when the doctor came, 
and soon died. A sort of low fever was prevailing in the village, 
and his want of sleep, his exhaustion, and his misery, made him 
apt to take it. The grave was not difficult to reopen. A fresh fall 
of snow had again made all things white and smooth. Rab once 
more looked on, and slunk home to the stable. 

And what of Rab? I asked for him next week at the ne.w car- 
rier who got the goodwill of James’s business, and was now master 
of Jess and her cart. “How’s Rab? ” He put me off, and said 
rather rudely, “ What’s your business wi’ the dowg? ” I was not 
to be so put off. “Where’s Rab?” He, getting confused and 
red, and intermeddling with his hair, said, “ ’Deed, sir, Rab’s deid.” 
“Dead! what did he die of? ” “ Weel, sir,” said he, getting red- 

der, “he didna exactly dee; he was killed. I had to brain him wi’ 
a rack-pin; there was nae doin’ wi’ him. He lay in the treviss wi’ 
the mear, and wadna come oot. I tempit him wi’ kail and meat, 
but he wad tak’ naething, and keepit me frae feedin’ the beast, and 
he was aye gur gurrin’, and grup gruppin’ me by the legs. I 
was laith to mak’ awa wi’ the auld dowg, his like wasna atween 


Animal Sketches and Stories 375 

this and Thornhill,— but, ’deed, sir, I could do naething else.” I 
believed him. Fit end for Rab, quick and complete. His teeth 
and his friends gone, why should he keep the peace, and be civil? 

He was buried in the braeface, near the burn, the children of the 
village, his companions, who used to make very free with him and 
sit on his ample stomach, as he lay half asleep at the door in the 
sun, watching the solemnity. 

THE BUSY BLUE JAY 1 
Olive Thorne Miller 

I 

One of the most interesting birds who ever lived in my Bird Room 
was a blue jay named Jakie. He was full of business from morning 
till night, scarcely ever a moment still. 

Poor little fellow! He had been stolen from the nest before he 
could fly, and reared in a house, long before he was given to me. 
Of course he could not be set free, for he did not know how to 
take care of himself. 

Jays are very active birds, and being shut up in a room, my blue 
jay had to find things to do, to keep himself busy. If he had 
been allowed to grow up out of doors, he would have found plenty 
to do, planting acorns and nuts, nesting, and bringing up families. 

Sometimes the things he did in the house were what we call mis- 
chief because they annoy us, such as hammering the woodwork 
to pieces, tearing bits out of the leaves of books, working holes 
in chair seats, or pounding a cardboard box to pieces. But how is 
a poor little bird to know what is mischief? 

. Many things which Jakie did were very funny. For instance, 
he made it his business to clear up the room. When he had more 
food than he could eat at the moment, he did not leave it around, 
but put it away carefully, — not in the garbage pail, for that was 
not in the room, but in some safe nook where it did not offend the 
eye. Sometimes it was behind the tray in his cage, or among the 
books on the shelf. The places he liked best were about me, — in 
the fold of a ruffle or the loop of a bow on my dress, and sometimes 
in the side of my slipper. The very choicest place of all was in my 
loosely bound hair. That of course I could not allow, and I had to 
keep a very close watch of him for fear I might have a bit of bread 

1 From True Bird Stories. Copyright, 1903, by Houghton Mifflin Company. 
Used by permission of the publishers. 


376 


Types of Childrens Literature 

or meat thrust among my locks. In his clearing up he always went 
carefully over the floor, picking up pins or any little thing he could 
find, and I often dropped burnt matches, buttons, and other small 
things to give him something to do. These he would pick up and 
put nicely away. 

Pins, Jakie took lengthwise in his beak, and at first I thought he 
had swallowed them, till I saw him hunt up a proper place to hide 
them. The place he chose, was between the leaves of a book. He 
would push a pin far in out of sight, and then go after another. A 
match he always tried to put in a crack, under the baseboard, be- 
tween the breadths of matting, or under my rockers. He first placed 
it, and then tried to hammer it out of sight. He could seldom get it 
in far enough to suit him, and this worried him. Then he would 
take it out and try another place. 

Once the blue jay found a good match, of the parlor match 
variety. He put it between the breadths of matting, and then began 
to pound on it as usual. Pretty soon he hit the unburnt end and 
it went off with a loud crack, as parlor matches do. Poor Jakie 
jumped two feet into the air, nearly frightened out of his wits; and 
I was frightened, too, for I feared he might set the house on fire. 

Often when I got up from my chair a shower of the bird’s play- 
things would fall from his various hiding-places about my dress, — 
nails, matches, shoe-buttons, bread-crumbs, and other things. Then 
he had to begin his work all over again. 

Jakie liked a small ball or a marble. His game was to give 
it a hard peck and see it roll. If it rolled away from him, he ran 
after it and pecked again; but sometimes it rolled toward him, and 
then he bounded into the air as if he thought it would bite. And 
what was funny, he was always offended at this conduct of the ball, 
and went off sulky for a while. 

He was a timid little fellow. Wind or storm outside the windows 
made him wild. He would fly around the room, squawking at the 
top of his voice; and the horrible tin horns the boys liked to blow 
at Thanksgiving and Christmas drove him frantic. Once I brought 
a Christmas tree into the room to please the birds, and all were 
delighted with it except my poor little blue jay, who was much 
afraid of it. Think of the sadness of a bird being afraid of a tree! 

II 

Jakie had decided opinions about people who came into the room 
to see me, or to see the birds. At some persons he would squawk 


Animal Sketches and Stories 


377 


every moment. Others he saluted with a queer cry like “Ob-ble! 
ob-ble! ob-ble! ” Once when a lady came in with a baby, he fixed 
his eyes on that infant with a savage look as if he would like to 
peck it, and jumped back and forth in his cage, panting, but per- 
fectly quiet. 

Jakie was very devoted to me. He always greeted me with a 
low, sweet chatter, with wings quivering, and if he were out of the 
cage he would come on the back of my chair and touch my cheek 
or lips very gently with his beak, or offer me a bit of food if he 
had any; and to me alone, when no one else was near, he sang a 
low, exquisite song. I afterwards heard a similar song sung by a 
wild blue jay to his mate while she was sitting, and so I knew that 
my dear little captive had given me his sweetest — his love song. 

One of Jakie’s amusements was dancing across the back of a 
tall chair, taking funny little steps, coming down hard, “jouncing” 
his body, and whistling as loud as he could. He would keep up 
this funny performance as long as anybody would stand before him 
and pretend to dance, too. 

My jay was fond of a sensation. One of his dearast bits of fun 
was to drive the birds into a panic. This he did by flying furiously 
around the room, feathers rustling, and squawking as loud as he 
could. He usually managed to fly just over the head of each bird, 
and as he came like a catapult, every one flew before him, so that in 
a minute the room was full of birds flying madly about trying to get 
out of his way. This gave him great pleasure. 

Wild blue jays, too, like to stir up their neighbors. A friend told 
me of a small party of blue jays that she saw playing this kind of 
a joke on a flock of birds of several kinds, robins, catbirds, thrashers, 
and others. These birds were gathering the cherries on the top 
branches of a big cherry tree. The jays sat quietly on another tree 
till the cherry eaters were very busy eating. Then suddenly the 
mischievous blue rogues would all rise together and fly at them, as 
my pet did at the birds in the room. It had the same effect on the 
wild birds; they all flew in a panic. Then the joking jays would 
return to their tree and wait till their victims forgot their fear and 
came straggling back to the cherries, when they repeated the fun. 

Once a grasshopper got into the Bird Room, probably brought in 
clinging to some one’s dress in the way grasshoppers do. Jakie was 
in his cage, but he noticed the stranger instantly, and I opened the 
door for him. He went at once to look at the grasshopper, and when 
it hopped he was so startled that he hopped, too. Then he picked 


37 $ 


Types of Childrens Literature 

the insect up, but he did not know what to do with it, so he dropped 
it again. Again the grasshopper jumped directly up, and again 
the Jay did the same. This they did over and over, till every one 
was tired laughing at them. It looked as if they were trying to see 
who could jump the higher. 

There was another bird in the room, however, who knew what 
grasshoppers were good for. He was an orchard oriole, and after 
looking on for a while, he came down and carried off the hopper to 
eat. The jay did not like to lose his plaything; he ran after the 
thief, and stood on the floor giving low cries and looking on while 
the oriole on a chair was eating the dead grasshopper. When the 
oriole happened to drop it, Jakie — who had got a new idea of what 
to do with grasshoppers — snatched it up and carried it under a 
chair and finished it. 

I could tell many more stories about my bird, but I have told 
them before in one of my “ grown-up ” books, so I will not repeat 
them here. 

A CRY IN THE NIGHT 1 
William J. Long 

This is the rest of the story, just as I saw it, of the little fawns that 
I found under the mossy log by the brook. There were two of them, 
you remember; and though they looked alike at first glance, I soon 
found out that there is just as much difference in fawns as there is 
in folks. Eyes, faces, dispositions, characters, — in all things they 
were as unlike as the virgins of the parable. One of them was wise, 
and the other was very foolish. The one was a follower, a learner; 
he never forgot his second lesson, to follow the white flag. The 
other followed from the first only his own willful head and feet, 
and discovered too late that obedience is life. Until the bear found 
him, I have no doubt he was thinking, in his own dumb, foolish 
way, that obedience is only for the weak and ignorant, and that 
government is only an unfair advantage which all the wilderness 
mothers take to keep little wild things from doing as they please. 

The wise old mother took them both away when she knew I had 
found them, and hid them in a deeper solitude of the big woods, 
nearer the lake, where she could the sooner reach them from her 
feeding grounds. For days after the wonderful discovery I used 

1 From Wood Folk at School. Copyright, 1903, by Ginn & Co., Boston. 
Used by permission of the publishers. 


Animal Sketches and Stories 


379 


to go in the early morning or the late afternoon, while mother 
deer are away feeding along the watercourses, and search the 
dingle from one end to the other, hoping to find the little ones again 
and win their confidence. But they were not there; and I took to 
watching instead a family of mink that lived .in a den under a root, 
and a big owl that always slept in the same hemlock. Then, one 
day when a flock of partridges led me out of the wild berry bushes 
into a cool green island of the burned lands, I ran plump upon 
the deer and her fawns lying all together under a fallen treetop, 
dozing away the heat of the day. 

They did not see me, but were only scared into action as a 
branch, upon which I stood looking for my partridges, gave way 
beneath my feet and let me down with a great crash under the fallen 
tree. There, looking out, I could see them perfectly, while Koo- 
kooskoos himself could hardly have seen me. At the first crack 
they all jumped like Jack-in-a-box when you touch his spring. The 
mother put up her white flag — which is the snowy underside of 
her useful tail, and shows like a beacon by day or night — and 
bounded away with a hoarse Ka-a-a-a-h! of warning. One of the 
little ones followed her on the instant, jumping squarely in his 
mother’s tracks, his own little white flag flying to guide any that 
might come after him. But the second fawn ran off at a tangent, 
and stopped in a moment to stare and whistle and stamp his tiny 
foot in an odd mixture of curiosity and defiance. The mother had 
to circle back twice before he followed her, at last, unwillingly. 
As she stole back each time, her tail was down and wiggling nerv- 
ously — which is the sure sign, when you see it, that some scent of 
you is floating off through the woods and telling its warning into 
the deer’s keen nostrils. But when she jumped away the white flag 
was straight up, flashing in the very face of her foolish fawn, tell- 
ing him as plain as any language what sign he must follow if he 
would escape danger and avoid breaking his legs in the tangled 
underbrush. 

I did not understand till long afterwards, when I had watched 
the fawns many times, how important is this latter suggestion. One 
who follows a frightened deer and sees or hears him go bounding off 
at breakneck pace over loose rocks and broken trees and tangled 
underbrush; rising swift on one side of a windfall without knowing 
what lies on the other side till he is already falling; driving like 
an arrow over ground where you must follow like a snail, lest 
you wrench a foot or break an ankle, — finds himself asking with 


380 


Types of Children s Literature 

unanswered wonder how any deer can live half a season in the wil- 
derness without breaking all his legs. And when you run upon a 
deer at night and hear him go smashing off in the darkness at the 
same reckless speed, over a tangled blow-down, perhaps, through 
which you can barely force your way by daylight, then you realize 
suddenly that the most wonderful part of a deer’s education shows 
itself, not in keen eyes or trumpet ears, or in his finely trained nose, 
more sensitive a hundred times than any barometer, but in his for- 
gotten feet, which seem to have eyes and nerves and brains packed 
into their hard shells instead of the senseless matter you see there. 

Watch the doe yonder as she bounds away, wig-wagging her 
heedless little one to follow. She is thinking only of him; and now 
you see her feet free to take care of themselves. As she rises over 
the big windfall, they hang from the ankle joints, limp as a glove 
out of which the hand has been drawn, yet seeming to wait and watch. 
One hoof touches a twig; like lightning it spreads and drops, after 
running for the smallest fraction of a second along the obstacle to 
know whether to relax or stiffen, or rise or fall to meet it. Just 
before she strikes the ground on the down plunge, see the wonderful 
hind hoofs sweep themselves forward, surveying the ground by 
touch, and bracing themselves, in a fraction of time so small that 
the eye cannot follow, for the shock of what lies beneath them, 
whether rock or rotten wood or yielding moss. The fore feet have 
followed the quick eyes above, and shoot straight and sure to their 
landing; but the hind hoofs must find the spot for themselves as 
they come down and, almost ere they find it, brace themselves again 
for the push of the mighty muscles above. 

Once only I found where a fawn with untrained feet had broken 
its leg; and once I heard of a wounded buck, driven to death by 
dogs, that had fallen in the same way never to rise again. Those 
were rare cases. The marvel is that it does not happen to every deer 
that fear drives through the wilderness. 

And that is another reason why the fawns must learn to obey a 
wiser head than their own. Till their little feet are educated, the 
mother must choose the way for them; and a wise fawn will jump 
squarely in her tracks. That explains also why deer, even after 
they are full grown, will often walk in single file, a half-dozen of 
them sometimes following a wise leader, stepping in his tracks and 
leaving but a single trail. It is partly, perhaps, to fool their old 
enemy, the wolf, and their new enemy, the man, by hiding the weak- 
ling’s trail in the stride and hoof mark of a big buck; but it shows 


Animal Sketches and Stories 381 

also the old habit, and the training which begins when the fawns 
first learn to follow the flag. 

After that second discovery I used to go in the afternoon to a 
point on the lake nearest the fawns’ hiding-place, and wait in my 
canoe for the mother to come out and show me where she had left 
her little ones. As they grew, and the drain upon her increased 
from their feeding, she seemed always half starved. Waiting in 
my canoe I would hear the crackle of brush, as she trotted straight 
down to the lake almost heedlessly, and see her plunge through the 
fringe of bushes that bordered the water. With scarcely a look or 
a sniff to be sure the coast was clear, she would jump for the lily 
pads. Sometimes the canoe was in plain sight; but she gave no heed 
as she tore up the juicy buds and stems, and swallowed them with 
the appetite of a famished wolf. Then I would paddle away and, 
taking my direction from her trail as she came, hunt diligently for 
the fawns until I found them. 

This last happened only two or three times. The little ones 
were already wild; they had forgotten all about our first meeting, 
and when I showed myself, or cracked a twig too near them, they 
would promptly bolt into the brush. One always ran straight away, 
his white flag flying to show that he remembered his lesson; the 
other went off zigzag, stopping at every angle of his run to look 
back and question me with his eyes and ears. 

There was only one way in which such disobedience could end. 
I saw it plainly enough one afternoon, when, had I been one of the 
fierce prowlers of the wilderness, the little fellow’s history would 
have stopped short under the paw of Upweekis, the shadowy lynx of 
the burned lands. It was late afternoon when I came over a ridge, 
following a deer path on my way to the lake, and looked down into 
a long, narrow valley filled with berry bushes, and with a few fire- 
blasted trees standing here and there to point out the perfect lone- 
liness and desolation of the place. 

Just below me a deer was feeding hungrily, only her hind quarters 
showing out of the underbrush. I watched her awhile, then dropped 
on all fours and began to creep towards her, to see how near I 
could get and what new trait I might discover. But at the first 
motion (I had stood at first like an old stump on the ridge) a fawn 
that had evidently been watching me all the time from his hiding 
sprang into sight with a sharp whistle of warning. The doe threw 
up her head, looking straight at me as if she had understood more 
from the signal than I had thought possible. There was not an 


382 


Types of Childrens Literature 

instant’s hesitation or searching. Her eyes went direct to me, as if 
the fawn’s cry had said: “ Behind you, mother, in the path by the 
second gray rock! ” Then she jumped away, shooting up the 
opposite hill over roots and rocks as if thrown by steel springs, 
blowing hoarsely at every jump, and followed in splendid style by 
her watchful little one. 

At the first snort of danger there was a rush in the underbrush 
near where she had stood, and a second fawn sprang into sight. I 
knew him instantly — the heedless one — and knew also that he had 
neglected too long the matter of following the flag. He was con- 
fused, frightened, chuckle-headed now; he came darting up the deer 
path in the wrong direction, straight towards me, to within two 
jumps, before he noticed the man kneeling in the path before him 
and watching him quietly. 

At the startling discovery he stopped short, seeming to shrink 
smaller and smaller before my eyes. Then he edged sidewise to 
a great stump, hid himself among the roots, and stood stock-still, — 
a beautiful picture of innocence and curiosity, framed in the rough 
brown roots of the spruce stump. It was his first teaching to hide 
and be still. Just as he needed it most, he had forgotten abso- 
lutely the second lesson. 

We watched each other full five minutes without moving an eye- 
lash. Then his first lesson ebbed away. He sidled out into the 
path again, came towards me two dainty, halting steps, and stamped 
prettily with his left fore foot. He was a young buck, and had that 
trick of stamping without any instruction. It is an old, old ruse 
to make you move, to startle you by the sound and threatening 
motion into showing who you are and what are your intentions. 

But still the man did not move; the fawn grew frightened at his 
own boldness and ran away down the path. Far up the opposite 
hill I heard the mother calling him. But he heeded not; he wanted 
to find out things for himself. There he was in the path again, 
watching me. I took out my handkerchief and waved it gently; at 
which great marvel he trotted back, stopping anon to look and stamp 
his little foot, to show me that he was not afraid. 

“ Brave little chap, I like you,” I thought, my heart going out 
to him as he stood there with his soft eyes and beautiful face, stamp- 
ing his little foot. “ But what,” my thoughts went on, “ had hap- 
pened to you ere now, had a bear or lucivee lifted his head over the 
ridge? Next month, alas! the law will be off; then there will be 
hunters in these woods, some of whom leave their hearts, with their 


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Animal Sketches and Stories 

wives and children, behind them. You can’t trust them, believe me, 
little chap. Your mother is right; you can’t trust them.” 

The night was coming swiftly. The mother’s call, growing ever 
more anxious, more insistent, swept over the darkening hillside. 

Perhaps, I thought, with sudden twinges and alarms of con- 
science, “ perhaps I set you all wrong, little chap, in giving you the 
taste of salt that day, and teaching you to trust things that meet you 
in the wilderness.” That is generally the way when we meddle 
with Mother Nature, who has her own good reasons for doing things 
as she does. But no! there were two of you under the old log that 
day ; and the other, he s up there with his mother now, where you 
ought to be, — he knows that old laws are safer than new thoughts, 
especially new thoughts in the heads of foolish youngsters. You are 
all wrong, little chap, for all your pretty curiosity, and the stamp of 
your little foot that quite wins my heart. Perhaps I am to blame, 
after all; anyway, I’ll teach you better now.” 

At the thought I picked up a large stone and sent it crashing, 
jumping, tearing down the hillside straight at him. All his bravado 
vanished like a wink. Up went his flag, and away he went over the 
logs and rocks of the great hillside; where presently I heard his 
mother running in a great circle till she found him with her nose, 
thanks to the wood wires and the wind’s messages, and led him away 
out of danger. 

One who lives for a few weeks in the wilderness, with eyes and 
ears open, soon finds that, instead of the lawlessness and blind 
chance which seem to hold sway there, he lives in the midst of law 
and order — an order of things much older than that to which he is 
accustomed, with which it is not well to interfere. I was uneasy, 
following the little deer path through the twilight stillness; and my 
uneasiness was not decreased when I found on a log, within fifty 
yards of the spot where the fawn first appeared, the signs of a big 
lucivee, with plenty of fawn’s hair and fine-cracked bones to tell me 
what he had eaten for his midnight dinner. 

Down at the lower end of the same deer path, where it stopped at 
the lake to let the wild things drink, was a little brook. Outside 
the mouth of this brook, among the rocks, was a deep pool; and in 
the pool lived some big trout. I was there one night, some two 
weeks later, trying to catch some of the big trout for my next break- 
fast. 

Those were wise fish. It was of no use to angle for them by day 
any more. They knew all the flies in my book; could tell the new 


384 Types of Childrens Literature 

Jenny Lind from the old Bumble Bee before it struck the water; and 
seemed to know perfectly, both by instinct and experience, that 
they were all frauds, which might as well be called Jenny Bee and 
Bumble Lind for any sweet reasonableness that was in them. Be- 
sides all this, the water was warm; the trout were logy and would 
not rise. 

By night, however, the case was different. A few of the trout 
would leave the pool and prowl along the shores in shallow water to 
see what tidbits the darkness might bring, in the shape of night 
bugs and careless piping frogs and sleepy minnows. Then, if you 
built a fire on the beach and cast a white-winged fly across the path 
of the firelight, you would sometimes get a big one. 

It was fascinating sport always, whether the trout were rising or 
not. One had to fish with his ears, and keep most of his wits in 
his hand, ready to strike quick and hard when the moment came, 
after an hour of casting. Half the time you would not see your 
fish at all, but only hear the savage plunge as he swirled down with 
your fly. At other times, as you struck sharply at the plunge, your 
fly would come back to you, or tangle itself up in unseen snags; and 
far out, where the verge of the firelight rippled away into the dark- 
ness, you would see a sharp wave-wedge shooting away, which told 
you that your trout was only a musquash. Swimming quietly by, he 
had seen you and your fire, and slapped his tail down hard on the 
water to make you jump. That is a way Musquash has in the night, 
so that he can make up his mind what queer thing you are and what 
you are doing. 

All the while, as you fish, the great dark woods stand close about 
you, silent, listening. The air is full of scents and odors that steal 
abroad only by night, while the air is dew-laden. Strange cries, 
calls, squeaks, rustlings run along the hillside, or float in from the 
water, or drop down from the air overhead, to make you guess and 
wonder what wood folk are abroad at such unseemly hours, and 
what they are about. So that it is good to fish by night, as well as 
by day, and go home with heart and head full, even though your 
creel be empty. 

I was standing very still by my fire, waiting for a big trout that 
had risen and missed my fly to regain his confidence, when I heard 
cautious rustlings in the brush behind me. I turned instantly, and 
there were two great glowing spots, the eyes of a deer, flashing out 
of the dark woods. A swift rustle, and two more coals glow 
lower down, flashing and scintillating with strange colors; and then 


Animal Sketches and Stories 385 

two more; and I know that the doe and her fawns are there, stopped 
and fascinated on their way to drink by the great wonder of the 
light, and by the witchery of the dancing shadows that rush up at 
timid wild things, as if to frighten them, but only jump over them 
and back again, as if inviting them to join the silent play. 

I knelt down quietly beside my fire, slipping on a great roll of 
birch bark which blazed up brightly, filling the woods with light. 
There, under a spruce, where a dark shadow had been a moment 
agone, stood the mother, her eyes all ablaze with the wonder of the 
light; now staring steadfastly into the fire; now starting nervously, 
with low questioning snorts, as a troop of shadows ran up to play 
hop-scotch with the little ones, which stood close behind her, one 
on either side. 

A moment only it lasted. Then one fawn — I knew the heedless 
one, even in the firelight, by his face and by his bright-dappled Jo- 
seph’s coat — came straight towards me, stopping to stare with flash- 
ing eyes when the fire jumped up, and then to stamp his little foot at 
the shadows to show them that he was not afraid. 

The mother called him anxiously; but still he came on, stamping 
prettily. She grew uneasy, trotting back and forth in a half circle, 
warning, calling, pleading. Then, as he came between her and the 
fire, and his little shadow stretched away up the hill where she was, 
showing how far away he was from her and how near the light, she 
broke away from its fascination with an immense effort: Ka-a-a-h! 
ka-a-a-h! the hoarse cry rang through the startled woods like a pis- 
tol shot; and she bounded away, her white flag shining like a wave 
crest in the night to guide her little ones. 

The second fawn followed her instantly; but the heedless one 
barely swung his head to see where she was going, and then came 
on towards the light, staring and stamping in foolish wonder. 

I watched him a little while, fascinated myself by his beauty, his 
dainty motions, his soft ears with a bright oval of light about them, 
his wonderful eyes glowing like burning rainbows kindled by the 
firelight. Far behind him the mother’s cry fan back and forth along 
the hillside. Suddenly it changed; a danger note leaped into it; 
and again I heard the call to follow and the crash of brush as she 
leaped away. I remembered the lynx and the sad little history 
written on the log above. As the quickest way of saving the foolish 
youngster, I kicked my fire to pieces and walked out toward him. 
Then, as the wonder vanished in darkness and the scent of the man 
poured up to him on the lake’s breath, the little fellow bounded 


386 


Types of Childrens Literature 

away — alas! straight up the deer path, at right angles to the course 
his mother had taken a moment before. 

Five minutes later I heard the mother calling a strange note in 
the direction he had taken, and went up the deer path very quietly 
to investigate. At the top of the ridge, where the path dropped 
away into a dark narrow valley with dense underbrush on either Hde, 
I heard the fawn answering her, below me among the big trees, and 
knew instantly that something had happened. He called continu- 
ously, a plaintive cry of distress, in the black darkness of the spruces. 
The mother ran around him in a great circle, calling him to come; 
while he lay helpless in the same spot, telling her he could not, and 
that she must come to him. So the cries went back and forth in 
the listening night, — Hoo-wuh, “ come here.” Bla-a-a, blr-r-t, “ I 
can’t; come here.” Ka-a-a-h, ka-a-a-h! “danger, follow!” — and 
then the crash of brush as she rushed away followed by the second 
fawn, whom she must save, though she abandoned the heedless one 
to prowlers of the night. 

It was clear enough what had happened. The cries of the wilder- 
ness all have their meaning, if one but knows how to interpret them. 
Running through the dark woods his untrained feet had missed their 
landing, and he lay now under some rough windfall, with a broken 
leg to remind him of the lesson he had neglected so long. 

I was stealing along towards him, feeling my way among the 
trees in the darkness, stopping every moment to listen to his cry to 
guide me, when a heavy rustle came creeping down the hill and 
passed close before me. Something, perhaps, in the sound — a 
heavy, though almost noiseless, onward push which only one creature 
in the woods can possibly make — something, perhaps, in a faint 
new odor in the moist air told me instantly that keener ears than 
mine had heard the cry; that Mooween the bear had left his blue- 
berry patch, and was stalking the heedless fawn, whom he knew, by 
the hearing of his ears, to have become separated from his watchful 
mother in the darkness. 

I regained the path silently — though Mooween heeds nothing 
when his game is afoot — and ran back to the canoe for my rifle. 
Ordinarily a bear is timid as a rabbit; but I had never met one so 
late at night before, and knew not how he would act should I take 
his game away. Besides, there is everything in the feeling with 
which one approaches an animal. If one comes timidly, doubtfully, 
the animal knows it; and if one comes swift, silent, resolute, with 
his power gripped tight, and the hammer back, and a forefinger rest- 


Animal Sketches and Stories 


887 


ing lightly on the trigger guard, the animal knows it too, you may 
depend. Anyway, they always act as if they knew, and you may 
safely follow the rule that, whatever your feeling is, whether fear or 
doubt or confidence, the large and dangerous animals will sense it 
instantly and adopt the opposite feeling for their rule of action. 
That is the way I have always found it in the wilderness. I met a 
bear once on a narrow path — but I must tell about that elsewhere. 

The cries had ceased; the woods were all dark and silent when 
I came back. I went as swiftly as possible — without heed or cau- 
tion; for whatever crackling I made the bear would attribute to the 
desperate mother — to the spot where I had turned back. Thence 
I went on cautiously, taking my bearings from one great tree on the 
ridge that lifted its bulk against the sky; slower and slower, till, 
just this side of a great windfall, a twig cracked sharply under my 
foot. It was answered instantly by a grunt and a jump beyond the 
windfall — and then the crashing rush of a bear up the hill, carry- 
ing something that caught and swished loudly on the bushes as it 
passed, till the sounds vanished in a faint rustle far away, and the 
woods were still again. 

All night long, from my tent over beyond an arm of the big lake, 
I heard the mother calling at intervals. She seemed to be running 
back and forth along the ridge, above where the tragedy had oc- 
curred. Her nose told her of the bear and the man; but what awful 
thing they were doing with her little one she knew not. Fear and 
questioning were in the calls that floated down the ridge and across 
the water to my little tent. 

At daylight I went back to the spot. I found without trouble 
where the fawn had fallen; the moss told mutely of his struggle; and 
a stain or two showed where Mooween grabbed him. The rest was 
a plain trail of crushed moss and bent grass and stained leaves, and 
a tuft of soft hair here and there on the jagged ends of knots in the 
old windfalls. So the trail hurried up the hill into a wild rough 
country where it was of no use to follow. 

As I climbed the last ridge on my way back to the lake, I heard 
rustlings in the underbrush, and then the unmistakable crack of a 
twig under a deer’s foot. The mother had winded me; she was now 
following and circling down wind to find out whether her lost fawn 
were with me. As yet she knew not what had happened. The bear 
had frightened her into extra care of the one fawn of whom she was 
sure. The other had simply vanished into the silence and mystery 
of the great woods. 


388 


Types of Childrens Literature 

Where the path turned downward, in sight of the lake, I saw her 
for a moment plainly, standing half hid in the underbrush, looking 
intently at my old canoe. She saw me at the same instant and 
bounded away, quartering up the hill in my direction. Near a 
thicket of evergreen that I had just passed, she sounded her hoarse 
K-a-a-h, k-a-a-h! and threw up her flag. There was a rush within 
the thicket; a sharp K-a-a-h! answered hers. Then the second fawn 
burst out of the cover where she had hidden him, and darted along 
the ridge after her, jumping like a big red fox from rock to rock, 
rising like a hawk over the windfalls, hitting her tracks wherever he 
could, and keeping his little nose hard down to his one needful les- 
son of following the white flag. 


SELECTIONS FROM THE BIBLE 

THE STORY OF JOSEPH 

And Jacob dwelt in the land wherein his father was a stranger, in 
the land of Canaan. These are the generations of Jacob. Joseph, 
being seventeen years old, was feeding the flock with his brethren; 
and the lad was with the sons of Bilhah, and with the sons of Zil- 
pah, his father’s wives; and Joseph brought unto his father their 
evil report. Now Israel loved Joseph more than all his children, be- 
cause he was the son of his old age: and he made him a coat of 
many colors. And when his brethren saw that their father loved 
him more than all his brethren, they hated him, and could not speak 
peaceably unto him. 

And Joseph dreamed a dream, and he told it his brethren: and 
they hated him yet the more. And he said unto them, “ Hear, I pray 
you, this dream which I have dreamed: For, behold, we were binding 
sheaves in the field, and, lo, my sheaf arose, and also stood upright; 
and, behold, your sheaves stood round about, and made obeisance to 
my sheaf.” And his brethren said to him, “ Shalt thou indeed reign 
over us? or shalt thou indeed have dominion over us? ” And they 
hated him yet the more for his dreams, and for his words. 

And he dreamed yet another dream, and told it his brethren, 
and said, 44 Behold, I have dreamed a dream more; and, behold, the 
sun and the moon and the eleven stars made obeisance to me.” And 
he told it to his father, and to his brethren: and his father rebuked 
him, and said unto him, 44 What is this dream that thou hast 
dreamed? Shall I and thy mother and thy brethren indeed come to 
bow down ourselves to thee to the earth? ” And his brethren en- 
vied him; but his father observed the saying. 

And his brethren went to feed their father’s flock in Shechem. 
And Israel said unto Joseph: 44 Do not thy brethren feed the flock 
in Shechem? come, and I will send thee unto them.” And he said 
to him: 44 Here am I.” And he said to him: 44 Go, I pray thee, 
see whether it be well with thy brethren, and well with the flocks; 
and bring me word again.” So he sent him out of the vale of 
Hebron, and he came to Shechem. 

And a certain man found him, and, behold, he was wandering in 
the field: and the man asked him, saying, 44 What seekest thou? ” 
And he said: 44 1 seek my brethren; tell me, I pray thee, where they 

389 


390 Types of Childrens Literature 

feed their flocks.” And the man said: “ They are departed hence; 
for I heard them say, ‘ Let us go to Dothan.’ ” And Joseph went 
after his brethren, and found them in Dothan. And when they saw 
him afar off, even before he came near unto them, they conspired 
against him to slay him. And they said one to another: “ Behold, 
this dreamer corneth. Come now, therefore, and let us slay him, 
and cast him into some pit, and we will say, ‘ Some evil beast hath 
devoured him: ’ and we shall see what will become of his dreams.” 
And Reuben heard it, and he delivered him out of their hands, and 
said: “ Let us not kill him.” And Reuben said unto them, “ Shed 
no blood, but cast him into this pit that is in the wilderness, and 
lay no hand upon him ” — that he might rid him out of their hands, 
to deliver him to his father again. 

And it came to pass, when Joseph was come unto his brethren, 
that they stripped Joseph out of his coat, his coat of many colors 
that was on him; and they took him, and cast him into a pit: and 
the pit was empty, there was no water in it. And they sat down to 
eat bread: and they lifted up their eyes and looked, and, behold, a 
company of Ishmaelites came from Gilead, with their camels bearing 
spicery and balm and myrrh, going to carry it down to Egypt. And 
Judah said unto his brethren, “ What profit is it if we slay our 
brother, and conceal his blood? Come, and let us sell him to the 
Ishmaelites, and let not our hand be upon him; for he is our brother 
and our flesh.” And his brethren were content. Then there passed 
by Midianites, merchant-men; and they drew and lifted up Joseph 
out of the pit, and sold Joseph to the Ishmaelites for twenty pieces 
of silver: and they brought Joseph into Egypt. 

And Reuben returned unto the pit; and, behold, Joseph was not in 
the pit; and he rent his clothes. 

And he returned unto his brethren, and said, “The child is not; 
and I, whither shall I go? ” And they took Joseph’s coat, and 
killed a kid of the goats, and dipped the coat in the blood; and they 
sent the coat of many colors, and they brought it to their father, and 
said, “ This have we found : know now whether it be thy son’s coat 
or no.” And he knew it, and said, “ It is my son’s coat; an evil 
beast hath devoured him; Joseph is without doubt rent in pieces.” 
And Jacob rent his clothes, and put sackcloth upon his loins, and 
mourned for his son many days. And all his sons and all his daugh- 
ters rose up to comfort him; but he refused to be comforted; and he 
said, “For I will go down into the grave unto my son mourning.” 
Thus his father wept for him. And the Midianites sold him into 


Selections from the Bible 391 

Egypt unto Potiphar, an officer of Pharaoh’s, and a captain of the 
guard. 

And Joseph was brought down to Egypt; and Potiphar, an officer 
of Pharaoh, captain of the guard, an Egyptian, bought him of the 
hands of the Ishmaelites, and which had brought him down thither. 
And the Lord was with Joseph, and he was a prosperous man; and 
he was in the house of his master the Egyptian. And his master saw 
that the Lord was with him, and that the Lord made all that he did 
to prosper in his hand. And Joseph found grace in his sight, and 
he served him: and he made him overseer over his house, and all 
that he had he put into his hand. And it came to pass from the time 
that he had made him overseer in his house, and over all that he 
had, that the Lord blessed the Egyptian’s house for Joseph’s sake; 
and the blessing of the Lord was upon all that he had in the house, 
and in the field. And he left all that he had in Joseph’s hand; and 
he knew not ought he had, save the bread which he did eat. And 
Joseph was a goodly person, and well favored. And it came to pass 
that his master’s wife falsely accused Joseph. And Joseph’s master 
took him, and put him into the prison, a place where the king’s 
prisoners were bound; and he was there in the prison. 

But the Lord was with Joseph, and showed him mercy, and gave 
him favor in the sight of the keeper of the prison. And the keeper 
of the prison committed to Joseph’s hand all the prisoners that were 
in the prison; and whatsoever they did there, he was the doer of it. 
The keeper of the prison looked not to any thing that was under his 
hand; because the Lord was with him, and that which he did, the 
Lord made it to prosper. 

And it came to pass after these things, that the butler of the king 
of Egypt and his baker had offended their lord the king of Egypt. 
And Pharaoh was wroth against two of his officers, and against the 
chief of the butlers, and against the chief of the bakers. And he 
put them in ward in the house of the captain of the guard, into the 
prison, the place where Joseph was bound. And the captain of the 
guard charged Joseph with them, and he served them; and they con- 
tinued a season in ward. 

And they dreamed a dream both of them, each man his dream in 
one night, each man according to the interpretation of his dream, the 
butler and the baker of the king of Egypt, which were bound in the 
prison. And Joseph came in unto them in the morning, and looked 
upon them, and, behold, they were sad. And he asked Pharaoh’s 


392 


Types of Childrens Literature 

officers that were with him in the ward of his lord’s house, saying: 
“ Wherefore look ye so sadly today? ” And they said unto him: 
“ We have dreamed a dream, and there is no interpreter of it.” 
And Joseph said unto them, “ Do not interpretations belong to God? 
Tell me them, I pray you.” And the chief butler told his dream to 
Joseph, and said to him, “ In my dream, behold a vine was before 
me. And in the vine were three branches; and it was as though it 
budded and her blossoms shot forth, and the clusters thereof brought 
forth ripe grapes. And Pharaoh’s cup was in my hand; and I took 
the grapes and pressed them into Pharaoh’s cup, and I gave the cup 
into Pharaoh’s hand.” And Joseph said unto him, “This is the 
interpretation of it: the three branches are three days. Yet within 
three days shall Pharaoh lift up thine head, and restore thee unto 
thy place; and thou shalt deliver Pharaoh’s cup into his hand, after 
the former manner when thou wast his butler. But think on me 
when it shall be well with thee, and show kindness, I pray thee, unto 
me, and make mention of me unto Pharaoh, and bring me out of this 
house. For indeed I was stolen away out of the land of the He- 
brews, and here also have I done nothing that they should put me 
into the dungeon.” When the chief baker saw that the interpreta- 
tion was good, he said unto Joseph, “ I also was in jny dream, and 
behold I had three white baskets on my head. And in the upper- 
most basket there was of all manner of bakemeats for Pharaoh, and 
the birds did eat them out of the basket upon my head.” And Jo- 
seph answered and said, “ This is the interpretation thereof : the 
three baskets are three days. Yet within three days shall Pharaoh 
lift up thy head from off thee, and shall hang thee on a tree, and 
the birds shall eat thy flesh from off thee.” 

And it came to pass the third day, which was Pharaoh’s birthday, 
that he made a feast unto all his servants; and he lifted up the 
head of the chief butler and of the chief baker among his servants. 
And he restored the chief butler unto his butlership again; and he 
gave the cup into Pharaoh’s hand; but he hanged the chief baker, 
as Joseph had interpreted to them. Yet did not the chief butler re- 
member Joseph, but forgat him. 

And it came to pass at the end of two full years, that Pharaoh 
dreamed; and, behold, he stood by the river. And, behold, there 
came up out of the river seven well-favored kine and fat-fleshed; and 
they fed in a meadow. And, behold, seven other kine came up after 
them out of the river, ill-favored and lean-fleshed; and stood by the 
other kine upon the brink of the river. And the ill-favored and 


Selections from the Bible 393 

lean-fleshed kine did eat up the seven well-favored and fat kine. So 
Pharaoh awoke. 

And he slept and dreamed the second time; and, behold, seven 
ears of corn came up upon one stalk, rank and good. .And, behold, 
seven thin ears and blasted with the east wind sprung up after them. 
And the seven thin ears devoured the seven rank and full ears. And 
Pharaoh awoke, and, behold, it was a dream. 

And it came to pass in the morning that his spirit was troubled; 
and he sent and called for all the magicians of Egypt, and all the 
wise men thereof: and Pharaoh told them his dream; but there was 
none that could interpret them unto Pharaoh. 

Then spake the chief butler unto Pharaoh, saying, “ I do remem- 
ber my faults this day: Pharaoh was wroth with his servants, and 
put me in ward in the captain of the guard’s house, both me and the 
chief baker: and we dreamed a dream in one night, I and he: we 
dreamed each man according to the interpretation of his dream. 
And there was there with u& a young man, a Hebrew, servant to the 
captain of the guard ; and we told him, and he interpreted to us our 
dreams; to each man according to his dream he did interpret. And 
it came to pass, as he interpreted to us, so it was; me he restored 
unto mine office, and him he hanged.” 

Then Pharaoh sent and called Joseph, and they brought him has- 
tily out of the dungeon: and he shaved himself, and changed his 
raiment, and came in unto Pharaoh. And Pharaoh said unto Jo- 
seph, “ I have dreamed a dream, and there is none that can inter- 
pret it: and I have heard say of thee that thou canst understand a 
dream to interpret it.” And Joseph answered Pharaoh, saying, “ It 
is not in me: God shall give Pharaoh an answer of peace.” And 
Pharaoh said unto Joseph, “ In my dream, behold, I stood upon the 
bank of the river: and, behold, there came up out of the river seven 
kine, fat-fleshed and well-favored; and they fed in a meadow; and, 
behold, seven other kine came up after them, poor and very ill-fa- 
vored and lean-fleshed, such as I never saw in all the land of Egypt 
for badness; and the lean and the ill-favored kine did eat up the first 
seven fat kine; and when they had eaten them up, it could not be 
known that they had eaten them; but they were still ill-favored, as 
at the beginning. So I awoke. And I saw in my dream, and, be- 
hold, seven ears came up in one stalk, full and good; and, behold, 
seven ears, withered, thin, and blasted with the east wind, sprung 
up after them; and the thin ears devoured the seven good ears: and 
I told this unto the magicians; but there was none that could de- 
clare it to me.” 


B94 Types of Children s Literature 

And Joseph said unto Pharaoh: “ The dream of Pharaoh is one: 
God hath showed Pharaoh what he is about to do. The seven good 
kine are seven years; and the seven good ears are seven years: the 
dream is one. And the seven thin and ill-favored kine that came up 
after them are seven years; and the seven empty ears blasted with 
the east wind shall be seven years of famine. This is the thing 
which I have spoken unto Pharaoh: what God is about to do he 
showeth unto Pharaoh. Behold, there come seven years of great 
plenty throughout all the land of Egypt; and there shall arise after 
them seven years of famine; and all the plenty shall be forgotten 
in the land of Egypt, and the famine shall consume the land; and 
the plenty shall not be known in the land by reason of that famine 
following; for it shall be very grievous. And for that the dream 
was doubled unto Pharaoh twice; it is because the thing is estab- 
lished by God, and God will shortly bring it to pass. Now there- 
fore let Pharaoh look out a man discreet and wise, and set him over 
the land of Egypt. Let Pharaoh do this, and let him appoint officers 
over the land, and take up the fifth part of the land of Egypt in the 
seven plenteous years. And let them gather all the food of those 
good years that come, and lay up corn under the hand of Pharaoh, 
and let them keep food in the cities. And that food shall be for 
store to the land against the seven years of famine, which shall be 
in the land of Egypt; that the land perish not through famine.” 

And the thing was good in the eyes of Pharaoh, and in the eyes of 
all his servants. And Pharaoh said unto his servants, “ Can we find 
such a one as this is, a man in whom the spirit of God is? ” And 
Pharaoh said unto Joseph, “ Forasmuch as God hath showed thee all 
this, there is none so discreet and wise as thou art: Thou shalt be 
over my house, and according unto thy word shall all my people be 
ruled: only in the throne will I be greater than thou.” And Pharaoh 
said unto Joseph, “ See, I have set thee over all the land of Egypt.” 
And Pharaoh took off his ring from his hand, and put it upon 
Joseph’s hand, and arrayed him in vestures of fine linen, and put a 
gold chain about his neck; and he made him to ride in the second 
chariot which he had, and they cried before him, “ Bow the knee ”: 
and he made him ruler over all the land of Egypt. And Pharaoh 
said unto Joseph, “ I am Pharaoh, and without thee shall no man lift 
up his hand or foot in all the land of Egypt.” And Pharaoh called 
Joseph’s name Zaphnath-paaneah; and he gave him to wife Asenath, 
the daughter of Poti-pherah, priest of On. And Joseph went out 
over all the land of Egypt. 


395 


Selections from the Bible 

And Joseph was thirty years old when he stood before Pharaoh 
king of Egypt. And Joseph went out from the presence of Pharaoh, 
and went throughout all the land of Egypt. And in the seven plen- 
teous years the earth brought forth by handfuls. And he gathered 
up all the food of the seven years, which were in the land of Egypt, 
and laid up the food in the cities: the food of the field, which was 
round about every city, laid he up in the same. And Joseph gath- 
ered corn as the sand of the sea, very much, until he left numbering; 
for it was without number. And unto Joseph were born two sons, 
before the years of famine came, which Asenath, the daughter of 
Poti-pherah, priest of On, bare unto him. And Joseph called the 
name of the firstborn Manasseh: “ For God,” said he, “ hath made 
me forget all my toil, and all my father’s house.” And the name of 
the second called he Ephraim: “For God hath caused me to be 
fruitful in the land of my affliction.” 

And the seven years of plenteousness that was in the land of Egypt 
were ended. And the seven years of dearth began to come, accord- 
ing as Joseph had said: and the dearth was in all lands; but in all 
the land of Egypt there was bread. And when all the land of Egypt 
was famished, the people cried to Pharaoh for bread: and Pharaoh 
said unto all the Egyptians, “ Go unto Joseph; what he saith to you, 
do.” And the famine was over all the face of the earth: and Joseph 
opened all the storehouses, and sold unto the Egyptians; and the 
famine waxed sore in the land of Egypt. And all countries came 
into Egypt to Joseph for to buy corn; because that the famine was so 
sore in all lands. 

Now when Jacob saw that there was corn in Egypt, Jacob said unto 
his sons: “Why do ye look one upon another? ” And he said, 
“Behold, I have heard that there is corn in Egypt; get you down 
thither, and buy for us from thence; that we may live, and not die.” 

And Joseph’s ten brethren went down to buy corn in Egypt. But 
Benjamin, Joseph’s brother, Jacob sent not with his brethren; for he 
said, “ Lest peradventure mischief befall him.” And the sons of 
Israel came to buy corn among those that came; for the famine was 
in the land of Canaan. And Joseph was the governor over the land, 
and he it was that sold to all the people of the land; and Joseph’s 
brethren came, and bowed down themselves before him with their 
faces to the earth. And Joseph saw his brethren, and he knew them, 
but made himself strange unto them, and spake roughly unto them; 
and he said unto them: “Whence come ye?” And they said: 
“ From the land of Canaan to buy food.” And Joseph knew his 


396 


Types of Childrens Literature 

brethren, but they knew not him. And Joseph remembered the 
dreams which he dreamed of them, and said unto them: 44 Ye are 
spies; to see the nakedness of the land ye are come.” And they said 
unto him: “ Nay, my lord, but to buy food are thy servants come. 
We are all one man’s sons; we are true men, thy servants are no 
spies.” And he said unto them: “Nay, but to see the nakedness 
of the land ye are come.” And they said: “Thy servants are 
twelve brethren, sons of one man in the land of Canaan; and, behold, 
the youngest is this day with our father, and one is not. And 
Joseph said unto them: “ That is it that I spake unto you, saying, 
4 Ye are spies: ’ hereby ye shall be proved: by the life of Pharaoh ye 
shall not go forth hence, except your youngest brother come hither. 
Send one of you, and let him fetch your brother, and ye shall be 
kept in prison, that your words may be proved, whether there be 
any truth in you; or else by the life of Pharaoh surely ye are spies.” 
And he put them all together into ward three days. And Joseph said 
unto them the third day: 

“This do, and live; for I fear God: if ye be true men, let one 
of your brethren be bound in the house of your prison; go ye, 
carry corn for the famine of your houses; but bring your youngest 
brother unto me; so shall your words be verified, and ye shall not 
die.” And they did so. 

And they said one to another: 44 We are verily guilty concerning 
our brother, in that we saw the anguish of his soul, when he be- 
sought us, and we would not hear; therefore is this distress come 
upon us.” And Reuben answered them, saying, “ Spake I not unto 
you, saying, 4 Do not sin against the child; ’ and ye would not hear? 
therefore, behold, also his blood is required.” And they knew not 
that Joseph understood them; for he spake unto them by an inter- 
preter. And he turned himself about from them, and wept; and 
returned to them again, and communed with them, and took from 
them Simeon, and bound him before their eyes. 

Then Joseph commanded to fill their sacks with corn, and to 
restore every man’s money into his sack, and to give them pro- 
vision for the way: and thus did he unto them. And they laded their 

asses with the corn and departed thence. And as one of them opened 

his sack to give his ass provender in the inn, he espied his money; 
for behold it was in his sack’s mouth. And he said unto his 
brethren, “ My money is restored; and, lo, it is even in my sack: ” 

and their heart failed them, and they were afraid, saying one to 

another, 41 What is this that God hath done unto us? ” 


397 


Selections from the Bible 

And they came unto Jacob their father unto the land of Canaan, 
and told him all that befell unto them, saying: 44 The man who is 
the lord of the land spoke roughly to us and took us for spies of the 
country. And we said unto him, ‘We are true men; we are no 
spies; we be twelve brethren, sons of our father; one is not and the 
youngest is this day with our father in the land of Canaan.’ And the 
man, the lord of the country, said unto us : ‘ Hereby shall I know 

that ye are true men: leave one of your brethren here with me, 
and take food for the famine of your households, and be gone; and 
bring your youngest brother unto me, then shall I know that ye are 
no spies but that ye are true men; so will I deliver you your brother 
and ye shall traffick in the land.’ ” 

And it came to pass as they emptied their sacks, that, behold, 
every man’s bundle of money was in his sack; and when both they 
and their father saw the bundles of money, they were afraid. And 
Jacob their father said unto them: “Me have ye bereaved of my 
children: Joseph is not, and Simeon is not, and ye will take Ben- 
jamin away; all these things are against me.” And Reuben spake 
unto his father, saying: “ Slay my two sons, if I bring him not to 
thee; deliver him into my hand, and I will bring him to thee again.” 
And he said: “ My son shall not go down with you; for his brother 
is dead, and he is left alone; if mischief befall him by the way in the 
which ye go, then shall ye bring down my gray hairs with sorrow 
to the grave.” 

And the famine was sore in the land. And it came to pass, when 
they had eaten up the corn which they had brought out of Egypt, 
their father said unto them: “ Go again, buy us a little food.” And 
Judah spake unto him saying: 

“ The man did solemnly protest unto us saying, 4 Ye shall not see 
my face, except your brother be with you.’ If thou wilt send our 
brother with us, we will go down and buy thee food. But if thou 
wilt not send him, we will not go down; for the man said unto us, 
4 Ye shall not see my face, except your brother be with you.’ ” And 
Israel said: 44 Wherefore dealt ye so ill with me as to tell the man 
whether ye had yet a brother? ” And they said, 44 The man asked us 
straitly of our state and of our kindred, saying, 4 Is your father yet 
alive? Have ye another brother? ’ And we told him according to 
the tenor of these words. Could we certainly know that he would 
say, 4 Bring your brother down? ’ ” And Judah said unto Israel his 
father, 44 Send the lad with me, and we will arise and go; that we 
may live and not die, both we and thou and also our little ones. I 


398 


Types of Childrens Literature 

will be surety for him: if I bring him not unto thee and set him 
before thee, then let me bear the blame forever. For except we had 
lingered, surely now we had returned this second time.” And their 
father Israel said unto them, 44 If it must be so now, do this: take of 
the best fruits in the land in your vessels, and carry down the man 
a present, a little balm, and a little honey, spices and myrrh, nuts 
and almonds: and take double money in your hand; and the money 
that was brought again in the mouth of your sacks, carry it again 
in your hand; peradventure it was an oversight. Take also your 
brother, and arise, go again unto the man: and God Almighty 
give you mercy before the man, that he may send away your other 
brother and Benjamin. If I be bereaved of my children, I am be- 
reaved.” 

And the men took that present, and they took double money in 
their hand, and Benjamin; and rose up, and went down to Egypt, and 
stood before Joseph. And when Joseph saw Benjamin with them, 
he said to the ruler of his house, 44 Bring these men home, and slay, 
and make ready; for these men shall dine with me at noon.” And 
the man did as Joseph bade; and the man brought the men into 
Joseph’s house. And the men were afraid, because they were 
brought into Joseph’s house; and they said, 44 Because of the money 
that was returned in our sacks at the first time are we brought in; 
that he may seek occasion against us, and fall upon us, and take 
us for bondmen, and our asses.” And they came near to the 
steward of Joseph’s house, and they communed with him at the door 
of the house, and said, 44 0 sir, we came indeed down at the first 
time to buy food: and it came to pass, when we came to the inn, 
that we opened our sacks, and, behold, every man’s money was in 
the mouth of his sack, our money in full weight; and we have 
brought it again in our hand. And other money have we brought 
down in our hands to buy food: we cannot tell who put our money 
in our sacks.” And he said : 44 Peace be to you, fear not ; your 

God, and the God of your father, hath given you treasure in your 
sacks; I had your money.” And he brought Simeon out unto them. 
And the man brought the men into Joseph’s house, and gave them 
water, and they washed their feet ; and he gave their asses provender. 
And they made ready th§ present against Joseph came at noon; 
for they heard that they should eat bread there. 

And when Joseph came home, they brought him the present which 
was in their hand into the house, and bowed themselves to him to the 
earth. And he asked them of their welfare, and said: 44 Is your 


399 


Selections from the Bible 

father well, the old man of whom ye spake? Is he yet alive? ” 
And they answered: “ Thy servant our father is in good health, he 
is yet alive.” And they bowed down their heads, and made obei- 
sance. And he lifted up his eyes, and saw his brother Benjamin, his 
mother’s son, and said : “ Is this your younger brother, of whom ye 

spake unto me? ” And he said, “ God be gracious unto thee, my 
son.” And Joseph made haste; for his bowels did yearn upon his 
brother; and he sought where to weep; and he entered into his cham- 
ber, and wept there. And he washed his face, and went out, and 
refrained himself, and said, “ Set on bread.” And they set on for 
him by himself, and for them by themselves, and for the Egyptians, 
which did eat with him, by themselves; because the Egyptians might 
not eat bread with the Hebrews; for that is an abomination unto the 
Egyptians. And they sat before him, the firstborn according to his 
birthright, and the youngest according to his youth; and the men 
marveled one at another. And he took and sent messes unto them 
from before him, but Benjamin’s mess was five times as much as 
any of theirs. And they drank, and were merry with him. 

And he commanded the steward of his house, saying: “Fill the 
men’s sacks with food, as much as they can carry, and put every 
man’s money in his sack’s mouth. And put my cup, the silver cup, 
in the sack’s mouth of the youngest, and his corn money.” And he 
did according to the word that Joseph had spoken. As soon as the 
morning was light, the men were sent away, they and their asses. 
And when they were gone out of the city, and not yet far off, Joseph 
said unto his steward, “Up, follow after the men; and when thou 
dost overtake them, say unto them, 4 Wherefore have ye rewarded evil 
for good? Is not this it in which my lord drinketh, and whereby 
indeed he divineth? ye have done evil in so doing.’ ” 

And he overtook them, and he spake unto them these same words. 
And they said unto him, “ Wherefore saith my lord these words? 
God forbid that thy servants should do according to this thing: be- 
hold, the money, which was found in our sacks* mouths, we brought 
again unto thee out of the land of Canaan: how then should we steal 
out of thy lord’s house silver or gold? With whosoever of thy 
servants it be found, both let him die, and we also will be my lord’s 
bondmen.” And he said, “ Now also let it be according unto your 
words: he with whom it is found shall be my servant; and ye shall 
be blameless.” Then they speedily took down every man his sack 
to the ground, and opened every man his sack. And he searched, 
cind began at the eldest and left at the youngest: and the cup was 


400 


Types of Childrens Literature 

found in Benjamin’s sack. Then they rent their clothes, and laded 
every man his ass, and returned to the city. 

And Judah and his brethren came to Joseph’s house, for he was 
yet there; and they fell before him on the ground. And Joseph 
said unto them: “ What deed is this that ye have done? wot ye not 
that such a man as I can certainly divine? ” And Judah said: 
“What shall we say unto my lord? what shall we speak? or how 
shall we clear ourselves? God hath found out the iniquity of thy 
servants; behold, we are my lord’s servants, both we, and he also 
with whom the cup is found.” And he said: “ God forbid that I 
should do so; but the man in whose hand the cup is found, he shall 
be my servant; and as for you, get you up in peace unto your 
father.” 

Then Judah came near unto him, and said: “Oh my lord, let 
thy servant, I pray thee, speak a word in my lord’s ears, and let 
not thine anger burn against thy servant, for thou art even as Pha- 
raoh. My lord asked his servants, saying, ‘ Have ye a father, or a 
brother? ’ And we said unto my lord, ‘We have a father, an old 
man, and a child of his old age, a little one; and his brother is dead, 
and he alone is left of his mother, and his father loveth him.’ And 
thou saidst unto thy servants, 4 Bring him down unto me, that I may 
set mine eyes upon him.’ And we said unto my lord, 6 The lad can- 
not leave his father; for if he should leave his father, his father 
would die.’ And thou saidst unto thy servants, ‘ Except your young- 
est brother came down with you, ye shall see my face no more.’ 
And it came to pass when we came up unto thy servant my father, 
we told him the words of my lord. And our father said, e Go again, 
and buy us a little food.’ And we said, ‘ We cannot go down. If 
our youngest brother be with us, then will we go down ; for we may 
not see the man’s face except our youngest brother be with us! ’ 
And thy servant my father said to us, ‘Ye know that my wife bare 
me two sons; and the one went out from me, and I said, “Surely 
he is torn in pieces,” and I saw him not since. And if ye take this 
also from me and mischief befall him, ye shall bring down my gray 
hairs with sorrow to the grave.’ Now therefore when I come to thy 
servant my father, and the lad be not with us, seeing that his life is 
bound up in the lad’s life, it shall come to pass, when he seeth that 
the lad is not with us, that he will die: and thy servants shall bring 
down the gray hairs of thy servant our father with sorrow to the 
grave. For thy servant became surety for the lad unto my father, 
saying, ‘ If I bring him not unto thee, then I shall bear the blame to 


401 


Selections from the Bible 

my father forever.’ Now therefore, I pray thee, let thy servant abide 
instead of the lad a bondman to my lord, and let the lad go up with 
his brethren. For how shall I go up to my father, and the lad be 
not with me? lest peradventure I see the evil that shall come on mv 
father.” y 

Then Joseph could not refrain himself before all them that stood 
by him; and he cried, “ Cause every man to go out from me.” And 
there stood no man with him, while Joseph made himself known 
unto his brethren. And he wept aloud: and the Egyptians and the 
house of Pharaoh heard. And Joseph said unto his brethren, “ I am 
Joseph; doth my father yet live? ” And his brethren could not 
answer him; for they were troubled at his presence. And Joseph 
said unto his brethren, “ Come near to me, I pray you.” And they 
came near. And he said, 44 I am Joseph your brother, whom ye sold 
into Egypt. Now therefore be not grieved, nor angry with your- 
selves, that ye sold me hither: for God did send me before you to 
preserve life. For these two years hath the famine been in the land: 
and yet there are five years, in the which there shall neither be earing 
nor harvest. And God sent me before you to preserve you a pos- 
terity in the earth, and to save your lives by a great deliverance. So 
now it was not you that sent me hither, but God; and he hath made 
me a father to Pharaoh, and lord of all his house, and a ruler 
throughout all the land of Egypt. Haste ye, and go up to my father, 
and say unto him, 4 Thus said thy son Joseph, God hath made me 
lord of all Egypt: come down unto me, tarry not: and thou shalt 
dwell in the land of Goshen, and thou shalt be near unto me, thou, 
and thy children, and thy children’s children, and thy flocks, and thy 
herds, and all that thou hast; and there will I nourish thee; for yet' 
there are five years of famine; lest thou, and thy household, and all 
that thou hast, come to poverty.’ And, behold, your eyes see, and 
the eyes of my brother Benjamin, that it is my mouth that speaketh 
unto you. And ye shall tell my father of all my glory in Egypt, 
and of all that ye have seen; and ye shall haste and bring down my 
father hither.” And he fell upon his brother Benjamin’s neck, and 
wept; and Benjamin wept upon his neck. Moreover, he kissed all 
his brethren, and wept upon them, and after that his brethren talked 
with him. 

And the fame thereof was heard in Pharaoh’s house, saying, 44 Jo- 
seph’s brethren are come; ” and it pleased Pharaoh well, and his 
servants. And Pharaoh said unto Joseph: 44 Say unto thy brethren, 

4 This do ye; lade your beasts, and go, get you unto the land of 


402 


Types of Childrens Literature 

Canaan; and take your father and your households, and come unto 
me, and I will give you the good of the land of Egypt, and ye shall 
eat the fat of the land.’ Now thou art commanded, this do ye; lake 
you wagons out of the land of Egypt for your little ones, and for 
your wives, and bring your father, and come. Also regard not your 
stuff; for the good of all the land of Egypt is yours.” And the 
children of Israel did so; and Joseph gave them wagons, according 
to the commandment of Pharaoh, and gave them provision for the 
way. To all of them he gave each man changes of raiment; but to 
Benjamin he gave three hundred pieces of silver, and five changes 
of raiment. And to his father he sent after this manner; ten asses 
laden with the good things of Egypt, and ten she asses laden with 
corn and bread and meat for his father by the way. So he sent his 
brethren away, and they departed ; and he said unto them, “ See that 
ye fall not out by the way.” 

And they went up out of Egypt, and came into the land of Canaan 
unto Jacob their father, and told him, saying, “ Joseph is yet alive, 
and he is governor over all the land of Egypt.” And Jacob’s heart 
fainted, for he believed them not. And they told him all the words 
of Joseph, which he had said unto them: and when he saw the wagons 
which Joseph had sent to carry him, the spirit of Jacob their father 
revived: and Israel said, “ It is enough; Joseph my son is yet alive: 
I will go and see him before I die.” 

And Israel took his journey with all that he had, and came to 
Beer-sheba, and offered sacrifices unto the God of his father Isaac. 
And God spake unto Israel in the visions of the night, and said, 
“ Jacob, Jacob.” And he said, “ Here am I.” And he said, “ I am 
God, the God of thy father: fear not to go down into Egypt; for I 
will there make of thee a great nation : I will go down with thee into 
Egypt; and I will also surely bring thee up again: and Joseph shall 
put his hand upon thine eyes.” And Jacob rose up from Beer- 
sheba: and the sons of Israel carried Jacob their father, and their 
little ones, and their wives, in the wagons which Pharaoh had sent 
to carry him. And they took their cattle, and their goods, which 
they had gotten in the land of Canaan, and came into Egypt, Jacob, 
and all his seed with him: his sons, and his sons’ sons with him, his 
daughters, and his sons’ daughters, and all his seed brought he with 
him into Egypt. 

And he sent Judah before him unto Joseph, to direct his face unto 
Goshen; and they came into the land of Goshen. And Joseph made 
ready his chariot, and went up to meet Israel his father, to Goshen, 


403 


Selections from the Bible 

and presented himself unto him; and he fell on his neck, and wept 
on his neck a good while. And Israel said unto Joseph: 44 Now let 
me die, since I have seen thy face, because thou art yet alive.” And 
Joseph said unto his brethren, and unto his father’s house: 44 1 will 
go up, and show Pharaoh, and say unto him, 4 My brethren, and my 
father’s house, which were in the land of Canaan, are come unto 
me; and the men are shepherds, for their trade hath been to feed 
cattle; and they have brought their flocks, and their herds, and all 
that they have.’ And it shall come to pass, when Pharaoh shall call 
you, and shall say, 4 What is your occupation? ’ that ye shall say, 
Thy servants’ trade hath been about cattle from our youth even 
until now, both we, and also our fathers: ’ that ye may dwell in the 
land of Goshen; for every shepherd is an abomination unto the 
Egyptians.” 

Then Joseph came and told Pharaoh, and said: 44 My father and 
my brethren, and their flocks, and their herds, and all that they have, 
are come out of the land of Canaan; and, behold, they are in the 
land of Goshen.” And he took some of his brethren, even five men, 
and presented them unto Pharaoh. And Pharaoh said unto his 
brethren: 44 What is your occupation? ” And they said unto Pha- 
raoh : 44 Thy servants are shepherds, both we, and also our fathers.” 

They said moreover unto Pharaoh, 44 For to sojourn in the land are 
we come; for thy servants have no pasture for their flocks; for the 
famine is sore in the land of Canaan: now therefore, we pray thee, 
let thy servants dwell in the land of Goshen.” And Pharaoh spake 
unto Joseph, saying: 44 Thy father and thy brethren are come unto 
thee: the land of Egypt is before thee; in the best of the land make 
thy father and brethren to dwell; in the land of Goshen let them 
dwell: and if thou knowest any men of activity among them, then 
make them rulers over my cattle.” And Joseph brought in Jacob his 
father, and set him before Pharaoh: and Jacob blessed Pharaoh. 
And Pharaoh said unto Jacob, 44 How old art thou? ” And Jacob 
said unto Pharaoh, 44 The days of the years of my pilgrimage are 
an hundred and thirty years: few and evil have the days of the years 
of my life been, and have not attained unto the days of the years of 
the life of my fathers in the days of their pilgrimage.” And Jacob 
blessed Pharaoh, and went out from before Pharaoh. 

And Joseph placed his father and his brethren, and gave them a 
possession in the land of Egypt, in the best of the land, in the land 
of Rameses, as Pharaoh had commanded. And Joseph nourished 
his father and his brethren, and all his father’s household, with 
bread, according to their families. 


404 


Types of Childrens Literature 

And there was no bread in all the land; for the famine was very 
sore, so that the land of Egypt and all the land of Canaan fainted 
by reason of the famine. And Joseph gathered up all the money 
that was found in the land of Egypt, and in the land of Canaan, for 
the corn which they bought; and Joseph brought the money into 
Pharaoh’s house. And when money failed in the land of Egypt, and 
in the land of Canaan, all the Egyptians came unto Joseph, and said, 
44 Give us bread, for why should we die in thy presence? for the 
money faileth.” And Joseph said, “ Give your cattle, and I will 
give you for your cattle, if money fail.” And they brought their 
cattle unto Joseph; and Joseph gave them bread in exchange for 
horses, and for the flocks, and for the cattle of the herds, and for 
the asses; and he fed them with bread for all their cattle for that 
year. When that year was ended, they came unto him the second 
year, and said unto hixu, 44 We will not hide it from my lord, how 
that our money is spent; my lord also hath our herds of cattle; there 
is not aught left in the sight of my lord, but our bodies, and our 
lands. Wherefore shall we die before thine eyes, both we and our 
land? buy us and our land for bread, and we and our land will be 
servants unto Pharaoh; and give us seed, that we may live, and not 
die, that the land be not desolate.” 

And Joseph bought all the land of Egypt for Pharaoh; for the 
Egyptians sold every man his field, because the famine prevailed 
over them. So the land became Pharaoh’s. And as for the people, 
he removed them to cities from one end of the borders of Egypt even 
to the other end thereof. Only the land of the priests bought he 
not; for the priests had a portion assigned them of Pharaoh, and 
did eat their portion which Pharaoh gave them. Wherefore they 
sold not their lands. Then Joseph said unto the people: “ Behold, 
I have bought you this day and your land for Pharaoh; lo, here is 
seed for you, and ye shall sow the land. And it shall come to pass 
in the increase, that ye shall give the fifth part unto Pharaoh, and 
four parts shall be your own, for seed of the field, and for your 
food, and for them of your households, and for food for your little 
ones.” And they said: 44 Thou hast saved our lives: let us find 
grace in the sight of my lord, and we will be Pharaoh’s servants.” 
And Joseph made it a law over the land of Egypt unto this day, that 
Pharaoh should have the fifth part; except the land of the priests 
only, which became not Pharaoh’s. And Israel dwelt in the land of 
Egypt, in the country of Goshen; and they had possessions therein, 
and grew, and multiplied exceedingly. And Jacob lived in the land 


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°f Egypt seventeen years; so the whole age of Jacob was an hundred 
forty and seven years. And the time drew nigh that Israel must 
die, and he called his son Joseph, and said unto him, “ If now I have 
found grace in thy sight, put, I pray thee, thy hand under my thigh, 
arid deal kindly and truly with me; bury me not, I pray thee, in 
Egypt; but I will lie with my fathers, and thou shalt carry me out 
of Egypt, and bury me in their burying-place.” And he said, “ I 
will do as thou hast said.” And he said, “ Swear unto me.” And 
he sware unto him. And Israel bowed himself upon the bed’s head. 

And it came to pass after these things, that one told Joseph, “ Be- 
hold, thy father is sick; ” and he took with him his two sons, Manas- 
seh and Ephraim. And one told Jacob, and said, “ Behold, thy son 
Joseph cometh unto thee; ” and Israel strengthened himself, and sat 
upon the bed. And Jacob said unto Joseph, 44 God Almighty ap- 
peared unto me at Luz in the land of Canaan, and blessed me, and 
said unto me, 4 Behold, I will make thee fruitful, and multiply thee, 
and I will make of thee a multitude of people; and will give this 
land to thy seed after thee for an everlasting possession.’ 

44 And now thy two sons, Ephraim and Manasseh, which were born 
unto thee in the land of Egypt before I came unto thee into Egypt, 
are mine; as Reuben and Simeon, they shall be mine. And thy 
issue, which thou begettest after them, shall be thine, and shall be 
called after the name of their brethren in their inheritance. And as 
for me, when I came from Padan, Rachel died by me in the land 
of Canaan in the way, when yet there was but a little way to come 
unto Ephrath: and I buried her there in the way of Ephrath; the 
same is Beth-lehem.” And Israel beheld Joseph’s sons, and said, 
44 Who are these? ” And Joseph said unto his father, 44 They are my 
sons, whom God hath given me in this place.” And he said, 44 Bring 
them, I pray thee, unto me, and I will bless them.” Now the eyes 
of Israel were dim for age, so that he could not see. And he 
brought them near unto him; and he kissed them, and embraced 
them. And Israel said unto Joseph, 44 1 had not thought to see thy 
face, and, lo, God hath showed me also thy seed.” And Joseph 
brought them out from between his knees, and he bowed himself 
with his face to the earth. And Joseph took them both, Ephraim in 
his right hand toward Israel’s left hand, and Manasseh in his left 
hand toward Israel’s right hand, and brought them near unto him. 
And Israel stretched out his right hand, and laid it upon Ephraim’s 
head, who was the younger, and his left hand upon Manasseh’s head, 
guiding his hands wittingly; for Manasseh was the firstborn. 


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And he blessed Joseph, and said, “ God, before whom my fathers 
Abraham and Isaac did walk, the God which fed me all my life long 
unto this day, the Angel which redeemed me from all evil, bless 
the lads; and let my name be named on them, and the name of my 
fathers Abraham and Isaac; and let them grow into a multitude 
in the midst of the earth.” And when Joseph saw that his father 
laid his right hand upon the head of Ephraim, it displeased him; 
and he held up his father’s hand, to remove it from Ephraim’s head 
unto Manasseh’s head. And Joseph said unto his father: 

44 Not so, my father, for this is the firstborn ; put thy right hand 
upon his head.” And his father refused, and said, “ I know it, my 
son, I know it; he also shall become a people, and he also shall be 
great; but truly his younger brother shall be greater than he, and his 
seed shall become a multitude of nations.” And he blessed them that 
day, saying, 44 In thee shall Israel bless, saying, 4 God make thee as 
Ephraim and as Manasseh; ’ ” and he set Ephraim before Manasseh. 
And Israel said unto Joseph, 44 Behold, I die; but God shall be with 
you, and bring you again unto the land of your fathers. Moreover, 
I have given to thee one portion above thy brethren, which I 
took out of the hand of the Amorite with my sword and with my 
bow.” 

And Jacob called unto his sons and blessed them; every one 
according to his blessing he blessed them. And he charged them, 
and said unto them: 

44 1 am to be gathered unto my people. Bury me with my fathers 
in the cave that is in the field of Ephron the Hittite, in the cave that 
is in the field of Machpelah, which is before Mamre, in the land 
of Canaan, which Abraham bought with the field of Ephron the Hit- 
tite for a possession of a buryingplace. There they buried Abra- 
ham and Sarah his wife; there they buried Isaac and Rebekah.his 
wife; and there I buried Leah. The purchase of the field and of 
the cave that is therein was from the children of Heth.” 

And when Jacob had made an end of commanding his sons, he 
gathered up his feet into the bed, and yielded up the ghost, and 
was gathered unto his people. 

And Joseph fell upon his father’s face, and wept upon him, and 
kissed him. And Joseph commanded his servants the physicians to 
embalm his father; and the physicians embalmed Israel. And forty 
days were fulfilled for him; for so are fulfilled the days of those 
which are embalmed ; and the Egyptians mourned for him threescore 
and ten days. And when the days of his mourning were past, Joseph 


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spake unto the house of Pharaoh, saying, “ If now I have found 
grace in your eyes, speak, I pray you, in the ears of Pharaoh, saying, 

‘ My father made me swear, saying, 44 Lo, I die: in my grave which 
I have digged for me in the land of Canaan, there shalt thou bury 
me.” Now therefore let me go up, I pray thee, and bury my father, 
and I will come again.’ ” And Pharaoh said, 44 Go up, and bury thy 
father, according as he made thee swear.” 

And Joseph went up to bury his father; and with him went up all 
the servants of Pharaoh, the elders of his house, and all the elders of 
the land of Egypt. And all the house of Joseph, and his brethren, 
and his father’s house; only their little ones, and their flocks, and 
their herds, they left in the land of Goshen. And there went up 
with him both chariots and horsemen: and it was a very great com- 
pany. And they came to the threshingfloor of Atad, which is beyond 
Jordan, and there they mourned with a great and very sore lamen- 
tation; and he made a mourning for his father seven days. And 
when the inhabitants of the land, the Canaanites, saw the mourning 
in the floor of Atad, they said, 44 This is a grievous mourning to the 
Egyptians; ” wherefore the name of it was called Abel-mizraim, 
which is beyond Jordan. And his sons did unto him according as he 
commanded them; for his sons carried him into the land of Canaan, 
and buried him in the cave of the field of Machpelah, which Abra- 
ham bought with the field for a possession of a buryingplace of 
Ephron the Hittite, before Mamre. 

And Joseph returned into Egypt, he, and his brethren, and all that 
went up with him to bury his father, after he had buried his father. 
And when Joseph’s brethren saw that their father was dead, they 
said, 44 Joseph will peradventure hate us, and will certainly requite 
us all the evil which we did unto him.” And they sent a mes- 
senger unto Joseph, saying, 44 Thy father did command before he 
died, saying: 4 So shall ye say unto Joseph, 44 Forgive, I pray thee 
now, the trespass of thy brethren, and their sin; for they did unto 
thee evil.” ’ And now, we pray thee, forgive the trespass of the 
servants of the God of thy father.” And Joseph wept when they 
spake unto him. And his brethren also went and fell down before 
his face; and they said, 44 Behold, we be thy servants.” And Joseph 
said unto them, 44 Fear not; for am I in the place of God? But 
as for you, ye thought evil against me; but God meant it unto good, 
to bring to pass, as it is this day, to save much people alive. Now 
therefore fear ye not. I will nourish you, and your little ones.” 
And he comforted them, and spake kindly unto them. 


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Types of Childrens Literature 

And Joseph dwelt in Egypt, he, and his father’s house; and Jo- 
seph lived an hundred and ten years. And Joseph saw Ephraim s 
children of the third generation; the children also of Machir the 
son of Manasseh were brought up upon Joseph’s knees. And Joseph 
said unto his brethren, “I die; and God will surely visit you, and 
bring you out of this land unto the land which he sware to Abra- 
ham, to Isaac, and to Jacob.” And Joseph took an oath of the 
children of Israel, saying, “ God will surely visit you, and ye shall 
carry up my bones from hence.” So Joseph died, being an hundred 
and ten years old. And they embalmed him, and he was put in a 
coffin in Egypt. 


THE STORY OF SAMSON 

And the woman bare a son, and called his name Samson: and the 
child grew, and the Lord blessed him. And the Spirit of the Lord 
began to move him at times in the camp of Dan between Zorah and 
Eshtaol. 

And Samson went down to Timnath, and saw a woman in Timnath 
of the daughters of the Philistines. And he came up, and told his 
father and his mother, and said, “ I have seen a woman in Timnath 
of the daughters of the Philistines: now therefore get her for me 
to wife.” 

Then his father and his mother said unto him, “ Is there never a 
woman among the daughters of thy brethren, or among all my 
people, that thou goest to take a wife of the uncircumcised Philis- 
tines? ” And Samson said unto his father, “ Get her for me; for she 
pleaseth me well.” 

But his father and his mother knew not that it was of the Lord, that 
he sought an occasion against the Philistines: for at that time the 
Philistines had dominion over Israel. 

Then went Samson down, and his father and his mother, to Tim- 
nath, and came to the vineyards of Timnath: and, behold, a young 
lion roared against him. And the Spirit of the Lord came mightily 
upon him, and he rent him as he would have rent a kid, and he had 
nothing in his hand : but he told not his father or his mother what he 
had done. And he went down, and talked with the woman; and she 
pleased Samson well. 

And after a time he returned to take her, and he turned aside to 
see the carcass of the lion: and, behold, there was a swarm of bees 
and honey in the carcass of the lion. And he took thereof in his 


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hands, and went on eating, and came to his father and mother, and 
he gave them, and they did eat: but he told not them that he had 
taken the honey out of the carcass of the lion. 

So his father went down unto the woman : and Samson made there 
a feast; for so used the young men to do. And it came to pass, 
when they saw him, that they brought thirty companions to be with 
him. 

And Samson said unto them, “ I will now 1 put forth a riddle unto 
you: if ye can certainly declare it me within the seven days of the 
feast, and find it out, then I will give you thirty sheets and thirty 
change of garments: But if ye cannot declare it me, then shall ye 
give me thirty sheets and thirty change of garments.” And they said 
unto him, “ Put forth thy riddle, that we may hear it.” And he said 
unto them, “ Out of the eater came forth meat, and out of the strong 
came forth sweetness.” And they could not in three days expound 
the riddle. And it came to pass on the seventh day, that they said 
unto Samson’s wife, “ Entice thy husband, that he may declare unto 
us the riddle, lest we burn thee and thy father’s house with fire: have 
ye called us to take that we have? is it not so? ” And Samson’s 
wife wept before him, and said, “ Thou dost but hate me, and lovest 
me not: thou hast put forth a riddle unto the children of my people, 
and hast not told it me.” And he said unto her, “ Behold, I have not 
told it my father nor my mother, and shall I tell it thee? ” And 
she wept before him the seven days, while their feast lasted: and it 
came to pass on the seventh day, that he told her, because she lay 
sore upon him: and she told the riddle to the children of her people. 
And the men cf the city said unto him on the seventh day before the 
sun went down, “What is sweeter than honey? and what is stronger 
than a lion? ” And he said unto them, “ If ye had not plowed with 
my heifer, ye had not found out -my riddle.” 

And the Spirit of the Lord came upon him, and he went down to 
Ashkelon, and slew thirty men of them, and took their spoil, and 
gave change of garments unto them which expounded the riddle. 
And his anger was kindled, and he went up to his father’s house. 
But Samson’s wife was given to his companion, whom he had used 
as his friend. 

But it came to pass within a while after, in the time of wheat 
harvest, that Samson visited his wife with a kid ; and he said, “ I 
will go in to my wife into the chamber.” But her father would not 
suffer him to go in. And her father said, “ I verily thought that 
thou hadst utterly hated her; therefore I gave her to thy com- 


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Types of Children s Literature 

panion: is not her younger sister fairer than she? take her, I pray 
thee, instead of her.” 

And Samson said concerning them, 44 Now shall I be more blame- 
less than the Philistines, though I do them a displeasure.” And 
Samson went and caught three hundred foxes, and took firebrands, 
and turned tail to tail, and put a firebrand in the midst between two 
tails. And when he had set the brands on fire, he let them go into 
the standing corn of the Philistines, and burnt up both the shocks, 
and also the standing corn, with the vineyards and olives. 

Then the Philistines said, “ Who hath done this? ” And they an- 
swered, “ Samson, the son-in-law of the Timnite, because he had 
taken his wife, and given her to his companion.” And the Philis- 
tines came up, and burnt her and her father with fire. 

And Samson said unto them, “ Though ye have done this, yet will 
I be avenged of you, and after that I will cease.” And he smote 
them hip and thigh with a great slaughter: and he went down 
and dwelt in the top of the rock Etam. 

Then the Philistines went up, and pitched in Judah, and spread 
themselves in Lehi. And the men of Judah said, “ Why are ye come 
up against us? ” And they answered, “ To bind Samson are we 
come up, to do to him as he hath done to us.” Then three thousand 
men of Judah went to the top of the rock Etam, and said to Samson, 
“ Knowest thou not that the Philistines are rulers over us? what is 
this that thou hast done unto us? ” And he said unto them, 44 As 
they did unto me, so have I done unto them.” And they said unto 
him, 44 We are come down to bind thee, that we may deliver thee into 
the hand of the Philistines.” And Samson said unto them, 44 Swear 
unto me, that ye will not fall upon me yourselves.” And they spake 
unto him, saying, 44 No ; but we will bind thee fast, and deliver thee 
into their hand: but surely we will not kill thee.” And they bound 
him with two new cords, and brought him up from the rock. 

And when he came unto Lehi, the Philistines shouted against him: 
and the Spirit of the Lord came mightily upon him, and the cords 
that were upon his arms became as flax that was burnt with fire, and 
his bands loosed from off his hands. And he found a new jawbone 
of an ass, and put forth his hand, and took it, and slew a thousand 
men therewith. And Samson said, 44 With the jawbone of an ass, 
heaps upon heaps, with the jaw of an ass have I slain a thousand 
men.” And it came to pass, when he had made an end of speaking, 
that he cast away the jawbone out of his hand, and called that place 
Ramath-lehi. 


411 


Selections from the Bible 

And he was sore athirst, and called on the Lord, and said, 44 Thou 
hast given this great deliverance into the hand of thy servant: and 
now shall I die for thirst, and fall into the hand of the uncircum- 
cised? ” But God clave a hollow place that was in the jaw, and 
there came water thereout; and when he had drunk, his spirit came 
again, and he revived: wherefore he called the name thereof En- 
hakkore, which is in Lehi unto this day. And he judged Israel in 
the days of the Philistines twenty years. 

Then went Samson to Gaza. And it was told the Gazites, saying, 
44 Samson is come hither.” And they compassed him in, and laid 
wait for him all night in the gate of the city, and were quiet all the 
night, saying, 44 In the morning, when it is day, we shall kill him.” 
And Samson lay till midnight, and arose at midnight, and took the 
doors of the gate of the city, and the two posts, and went away with 
them, bar and all, and put them upon his shoulders, and carried them 
up to the top of a hill that is before Hebron. 

And it came to pass afterward, that he loved a woman in the 
valley of Sorek, whose name was Delilah. And the lords of the 
Philistines came up unto her, and said unto her, 44 Entice him, and 
see wherein his great strength lieth, and by what means we may pre- 
vail against him, that >ve may bind him to afflict him: and we will 
give thee every one of us eleven hundred pieces of silver.” 

And Delilah said to Samson, 44 Tell me, I pray thee, wherein thy 
great strength lieth, and wherewith thou mightest be bound to afflict 
thee.” And Samson said unto her, 44 If they bind me with seven 
green withes that were never dried, then shall I be weak, and be as 
another man.” Then the lords of the Philistines brought up to her 
seven green withes which had not been dried, and she bound him 
with them. Now there were men lying in wait, abiding with her in 
the chamber. And she said unto him, 44 The Philistines be upon 
thee, Samson.” And he brake the withes, as a thread of tow is 
broken when it toucheth the fire. So his strength was not known. 
And Delilah said unto Samson, 44 Behold, thou hast mocked me, and 
told me lies: now tell me, I pray thee, wherewith thou mightest be 
bound.” And he said unto her, 44 If they bind me fast with new 
ropes that never were occupied, then shall I be weak, and be as 
another man.” Delilah therefore took new ropes, and bound him 
therewith, and said unto him, 44 The Philistines be upon thee, Sam- 
son.” And there were liers in wait abiding in the chamber. And 
he brake them from off his arms like a thread. And Delilah said 
unto Samson, 44 Hitherto thou hast mocked me, and told me lies: tell 


412 


Types of Childrens Literature 

me wherewith thou mightest be bound.” And he said unto her, “ If 
thou weavest the seven locks of my head with the web.” And she 
fastened it with the pin, and said unto him, “ The Philistines be upon 
thee, Samson.” And he awaked out of his sleep, and went away 
with the pin of the beam, and with the web. 

And she said unto him, “ How canst thou say, * I love thee,’ when 
thine heart is not with me? Thou hast mocked me these three times, 
and hast not told me wherein thy great strength lieth.” And it came 
to pass, when she pressed him daily with her words, and urged him, 
so that his soul was vexed unto death; that he told her all his heart, 
and said unto her, “ There hath not come a razor upon mine head ; 
for I have been a Nazarite unto God from my mother’s womb: if I 
be shaven, then my strength will go from me, and I shall become 
weak, and be like any other man.” And when Delilah saw that he 
had told her all his heart, she sent and called for the lords of the 
Philistines, saying, “ Come up this once, for he hath showed me all 
his heart.” Then the lords of the Philistines came up unto her, and 
brought money in their hand. And she made him sleep upon her 
knees; and she called for a man, and she caused him to shave olf the 
seven locks of his head; and she began to afflict him, and his strength 
went from him. And she said, “ The Philistines be upon thee, Sam- 
son.” And he awoke out of his sleep, and said, “ I will go out as at 
other times before, and shake myself.” And he wist not that the 
Lord was departed from him. 

But the Philistines took him, and put out his eyes, ar>d brought 
him down to Gaza, and bound him with fetters of brass; and he did 
grind in the prison house. Howbeit the hair of his head began to 
grow again after he was shaven. Then the lords of the Philistines 
gathered them together for to offer a great sacrifice unto Dagon their 
god, and to rejoice: for they said, “ Our god hath delivered Samson 
our enemy into our hand.” And when the people saw him, they 
praised their god : for they said, “ Our god hath delivered into our 
hands our enemy, and the destroyer of our country, which slew many 
of us.” And it came to pass, when their hearts were merry, that 
they said, “ Call for Samson, that he may make us sport.” And they 
called for Samson out of the prison house; and he made them sport: 
and they set him between the pillars. And Samson said unto the lad 
that held him by the hand, “ Suffer me that I may feel the pillars 
whereupon the house standeth, that I may lean upon them.” Now 
the house was full of men and women; and all the lords of the 
Philistines were there; and there were upon the roof about three 


413 


Selections from the Bible 

thousand men and women, that beheld while Samson made sport. 
And Samson called unto the Lord, and said, “ O Lord God, remem- 
ber me, I pray thee, and strengthen me, I pray thee, only this once, 
0 God, that I may be at once avenged of the Philistines for my two 
eyes.” And Samson took hold of the two middle pillars upon 
which the house stood, and on which it was borne up, of the one 
with his right hand, and of the other with his left. And Samson 
' said, “ Let me die with the Philistines.” And he bowed himself with 
all his might; and the house fell upon the lords, and upon all the 
people that were therein. So the dead which he slew at his death 
were more than they which he slew in his life. Then his brethren 
and all the house of his father came down, and took him, and brought 
him up, and buried him between Zorah and Eshtaol in the burying- 
place of Manoah his father. And he judged Israel twenty years. 

SOME PSALMS OF DAVID 
PSALM 1 

Blessed is the man that walketh not in the counsel of the ungodly, 
nor standeth in the way of sinners, nor sitteth in the seat of the 
scornful. 

But his delight is in the law of the Lord; and in his law doth he 
meditate day and night. 

And he shall be like a tree planted by the rivers of water, that 
bringeth forth his fruit in his season; his leaf also shall not wither; 
and whatsoever he doeth shall prosper. 

The ungodly are not so: but are like the chaff which the wind 
driveth away. 

Therefore the ungodly shall not stand in the judgment, nor sinners 
in the congregation of the righteous. 

For the Lord knoweth the way of the righteous: but the way of the 
ungodly shall perish. 

PSALM 19 

The heavens declare the glory of God; and the firmament showeth 
his handiwork. 

Day unto day uttereth speech, and night unto night showeth knowl- 
edge. 

There is no speech nor language, where their voice is not heard. 

Their line is gone out through all the earth, and their words to the 
end of the world. In them hath he set a tabernacle for the sun, 


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Types of Childrens Literature 

Which is as a bridegroom coming out of his chamber, and re- 
joiceth as a strong man to run a race. 

His going forth is from the end of the heaven, and his circuit 
unto the ends of it: and there is nothing hid from the heat thereof. 

The law of the Lord is perfect, converting the soul: the testimony 
of the Lord is sure, making wise the simple. 

The statutes of the Lord are right, rejoicing the heart: the com- 
mandment of the Lord is pure, enlightening the eyes. 

The fear of the Lord is clean, enduring for ever: the judgments 
of the Lord are true and righteous altogether. 

More to be desired are they than gold, yea, than much fine gold : 
sweeter also than honey and the honeycomb. 

Moreover by them is thy servant warned: and in keeping of them 
there is great reward. 

Who can understand his errors? cleanse thou me from secret 
faults. 

Keep back thy servant also from presumptuous sins; let them not 
have dominion over me: then shall I be upright, and I shall be inno- 
cent from the great transgression. 

Let the words of my mouth, and the meditation of my heart, be 
acceptable in thy sight, 0 Lord, my strength, and my redeemer. 

PSALM 23 

The Lord is my shepherd; I shall not want. 

He maketh me to lie down in green pastures: he leadeth me beside 
the still waters. 

He restoreth my soul: he leadeth me in the paths of righteousness 
for his name’s sake. 

Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I 
will fear no evil: for thou art with me; thy rod and thy staff they 
comfort me. 

Thou preparest a table before me in the presence of mine enemies: 
thou anointest my head with oil ; my cup runneth over. 

Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my 
life: and I will dwell in the house of the Lord for ever. 


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Selections from the Bible 

CHRIST’S SERMON ON THE MOUNT 

And seeing the multitudes, he went up into a mountain: and when 
he was set, his disciples came unto him: And he opened his mouth, 
and taught them, saying: 

Blessed are the poor in spirit: for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. 
Blessed are they that mourn: for they shall be comforted. Blessed 
are the meek: for they shall inherit the earth. Blessed are they 
which do hunger and thirst after righteousness: for they shall be 
filled. Blessed are the merciful: for they shall obtain mercy. 
Blessed are the pure in heart: for they shall see God. Blessed are 
the peacemakers: for they shall be called the children of God. 
Blessed are they which are persecuted for righteousness’ sake: for 
theirs is the kingdom of heaven. Blessed are ye, when men shall 
revile you, and persecute you, and shall say all manner of evil 
against you falsely, for my sake. Rejoice, and be exceeding glad: 
for great is your reward in heaven: for so persecuted they the 
prophets which were before you. 

Ye are the salt of the earth: but if the salt have lost his savor, 
wherewith shall it be salted? it is thenceforth good for nothing, but 
to be cast out, and to be trodden under foot of men. Ye are the 
light of the world. A city that is set on a hill cannot be hid. 
Neither do men light a candle, and put it under a bushel, but on a 
candlestick; and it giveth light unto all that are in the house. Let 
your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works, 
and glorify your Father which is in heaven. 

Think not that I am come to destroy the law, or the prophets: I am 
not come to destroy, but to fulfill. For verily I say unto you, Till 
heaven and earth pass, one jot or one tittle shall in no wise pass from 
the law, till all be fulfilled. Whosoever therefore shall break one of 
these least commandments, and shall teach men so, he shall be called 
the least in the kingdom of heaven : but whosoever shall do and teach 
them, the same shall be called great in the kingdom of heaven. For 
I say unto you, That except your righteousness shall exceed the 
righteousness of the scribes and Pharisees, ye shall in no case enter 
into the kingdom of heaven. 

Ye have heard that it was said by them of old time, Thou shalt not 
kill; and whosoever shall kill shall be in danger of the judgment: 
But I say unto you, That whosoever is angry with his brother without 
a cause shall be in danger of the judgment: and whosoever shall say 
to his brother, “ Raca,” shall be in danger of the council: but who* 


410 


Types of Childrens Literature 

soever shall say, “ Thou fool,” shall be in danger of hell fire. 
Therefore if thou bring thy gift to the altar, and there rememberest 
that thy brother hath aught against thee; leave there thy gift before 
the altar, and go thy way; first be reconciled to thy brother, and then 
come and offer thy gift. Agree with thine adversary quickly, while 
thou art in the way with him; lest at any time the adversary deliver 
thee to the judge, and the judge deliver thee to the officer, and thou 
be cast into prison. Verily I say unto thee, Thou shalt by no means 
come out thence, till thou hast paid the uttermost farthing. 

Again, ye have heard that it hath been said by them of old time, 
Thou shalt not forswear thyself, but shalt perform unto the Lord 
thine oaths: but I say unto you, Swear not at all; neither by heaven; 
for it is God’s throne: nor by the earth; for it is his footstool: neither 
by Jerusalem; for it is the city of the great King. Neither shalt 
thou swear by thy head, because thou canst not make one hair white 
or black. But let your communication be, Yea, yea; Nay, nay: for 
whatsoever is more than these cometh of evil. 

Ye have heard that it hath been said. An eye for an eye, and a tooth 
for a tooth: but I say unto you, That ye resist not evil: but who- 
soever shall smite thee on thy right cheek, turn to him the other also. 
And if any man will sue thee at the law, and take away thy coat, let 
him have thy cloak also. And whosoever shall compel thee to go 
a mile, go with him twain. Give to him that asketh thee, and from 
him that would borrow of thee turn not thou away. 

Ye have heard that it hath been said, Thou shalt love thy neighbor, 
and hate thine enemy. But I say unto you, Love your enemies, bless 
them that curse you, do good to them that hate you, and pray for 
them which despitefully use you, and persecute you; that ye may be 
the children of your Father which is in heaven: for he maketh his 
sun to rise on the evil and on the good, and sendeth rain on the just 
and on the unjust. For if ye love them which love you, what reward 
have ye? do not even the publicans the same? And if ye salute 
your brethren only, what do ye moire than others? do not even the 
publicans so? Be ye therefore perfect, even as your Father which is 
in heaven is perfect. 

Take heed that ye do not your alms before men, to be seen of 
them: otherwise ye have no reward of your Father which is in 
heaven. Therefore when thou doest thine alms, do not sound a 
trumpet before thee, as the hypocrites do in the synagogues and in 
the streets, that they may have glory of men. Verily I say unto 
you, They have their reward. But when thou doest alms, let not thy 


417 


Selections from the Bible 

left hand know what thy right hand doeth: that thine alms may be 
in secret: and thy Father which seeth in secret himself shall reward 
thee openly. 

And when thou prayest, thou shalt not be as the hypocrites are: 
for they love to pray standing in the synagogues and in the corners 
of the streets, that they may be seen of men. Verily I say unto you, 
They have their reward. But thou, when thou prayest, enter into 
thy closet, and when thou hast shut thy door, pray to thy Father 
which is in secret; and thy Father which seeth in secret shall reward 
thee openly. But when ye pray, use not vain repetitions, as the 
heathen do: for they think that they shall be heard for their much 
speaking. Be not ye therefore like unto them: for your Father 
knoweth what things ye have need of, before ye ask him. After this 
manner therefore pray ye: Our Father which art in heaven, Hal- 
lowed by thy name. Thy kingdom come. Thy will be done in 
earth, as it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread. And 
forgive us our debts, as we forgive our debtors. And lead us not 
into temptation, but deliver us from evil: For thine is the kingdom, 
and the power, and the glory, for ever. Amen. For if ye forgive 
men their trespasses, your heavenly Father will also forgive you: 
but if ye forgive not men their trespasses, neither will your Father 
forgive your trespasses. 

Moreover when ye fast, be not, as the hypocrites, of a sad counte- 
nance: for they disfigure their faces, that they may appear unto men 
to fast. Verily I say unto you, They have their reward. But thou, 
when thou fastest, anoint thine head, and wash thy face; that thou 
appear not unto men to fast, but unto thy Father which is in secret: 
and thy Father which seeth in secret shall reward thee openly. 

Lay not up for yourselves treasures upon earth, where moth and 
rust doth corrupt, and where thieves break through and steal: but 
lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor 
rust doth corrupt, and where thieves do not break through nor steal : 
for where your treasure is, there will your heart be also. The light 
of the body is the eye: if therefore thine eye be single, thy whole 
body shall be full of light. But if thine eye be evil, thy whole body 
shall be full of darkness. If therefore the light that is in thee be 
darkness, how great is that darkness! 

No man can serve two masters: for either he will hate the one, 
and love the other; or else he will hold to the one, and despise the 
other. Ye cannot serve God and mammon. Therefore I say unto 
you, Take no thought for your life, what ye shall eat, or what ye 


418 Types of Childrens Literature 

shall drink; nor yet for your body, what ye shall put on. Is not the 
life more than meat, and the body than raiment? Behold the fowls 
of the air: for they sow not, neither do they reap, nor gather into 
barns; yet your heavenly Father feedeth them. Are ye not much 
better than they? Which of you by taking thought can add one 
cubit unto his stature? And why take ye thought for raiment? 
Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow; they toil not, neither 
do they spin: and yet I say unto you, That even Solomon in all his 
glory was not arrayed like one of these. Wherefore, if God so 
clothe the grass of the field, which today is, and tomorrow is cast 
into the oven, shall he not much more clothe you, 0 ye of little faith? 
Therefore take no thought, saying, What shall we eat? or, What 
shall we drink? or, Wherewithal shall we be clothed? (For after 
all these things do the Gentiles seek:) for your heavenly Father 
knoweth that ye have need of all these things. But seek ye first the 
kingdom of God, and his righteousness; and all these things shall 
be added unto you. Take therefore no thought for the morrow: 
for the morrow shall take thought for the things of itself. Suf- 
ficient unto the day is the evil thereof. 

Judge not, that ye be not judged. For with what judgment ye 
judge, ye shall be judged: and with what measure ye mete, it shall 
be measured to you again. And why beholdest thou the mote that 
is in thy brother’s eye, but considerest not the beam that is in thine 
own eye? Or how wilt thou say to thy brother, Let me pull out the 
mote out of thine eye; and, behold, a beam is in thine own eye? 
Thou hypocrite, first cast out the beam out of thine own eye; and 
then shalt thou see clearly to cast out the mote out of thy brother’s 
eye. 

Give not that which is holy unto the dogs, neither cast ye your 
pearls before swine, lest they trample them under their feet, and turn 
again and rend you. 

Ask, and it shall be given you; seek, and ye shall find; knock, and 
it shall be opened unto you : for every one that asketh receiveth ; and 
he that seeketh findeth; and to him that knocketh it shall be opened. 
Or what man is there of you, whom if his son ask bread, will he give 
him a stone? Or if he ask a fish, will he give him a serpent? If 
ye then, being evil, know how to give good gifts unto your children, 
how much more shall your Father which is in heaven give good 
things to them that ask him? Therefore all things whatsoever ye 
would that men should do to you, do ye even so to them: for this 
is the law and the prophets. 


419 


Selections from the Bible 

Enter ye in at the strait gate: for wide is the gate, and broad is 
the way, that leadeth to destruction, and many there be which go in 
thereat: because strait is the gate, and narrow is the way, which 
leadeth unto life, and few there be that find it. 

Beware of false prophets, which come to you in sheep’s clothing, 
but inwardly they are ravening wolves. Ye shall know them by their 
fruits. Do men gather grapes of thorns, or figs of thistles? Even 
so every good tree bringeth forth good fruit; but a corrupt tree 
bringeth forth evil fruit. A good tree cannot bring forth evil fruit, 
neither can a corrupt tree bring forth good fruit. Every tree that 
bringeth not forth good fruit is hewn down, and cast into the fire. 
Wherefore by their fruits ye shall know them. 

Not every one that saith unto me, Lord, Lord, shall enter into the 
kingdom of heaven; but he that doeth the will of my Father which 
is in heaven. Many will say to me in that day, Lord, Lord, have we 
not prophesied in thy name? and in thy name have cast out devils? 
and in thy name done many wonderful works? And then will I 
profess unto them, I never knew you: depart from me, ye that work 
iniquity. 

Therefore whosoever heareth these sayings of mine, and doeth 
them, I will liken him unto a wise man, which built his house upon 
a rock: and the rain descended, and the floods came, and the winds 
blew, and beat upon that house; and it fell not: for it was founded 
upon a rock. And every one that heareth these sayings of mine, 
and doeth them not, shall be likened unto a foolish man, which built 
his house upon the sand: and the rain descended, and the floods 
came, and the winds blew, and beat upon that house; and it fell: 
and great was the fall of it. 

And it came to pass, when Jesus had ended these sayings, the peo- 
ple were astonished at his doctrine: for he taught them as one having 
authority, and not as the scribes. 

PAUL’S DISCOURSE ON CHARITY 

Though I speak with the tongues of men and of angels, and have 
not charity, I am become as sounding brass, or a tinkling cymbal. 
And though I have the gift of prophecy, and understand all myster- 
ies, and all knowledge; and though I have all faith, so that I could 
remove mountains, and have not charity, I am nothing. And though 
I bestow all my goods to feed the poor, and though I give my body 
to be burned, and have not charity, it profiteth me nothing. 


420 Types of Children s Literature 

Charity suffereth long, and is kind; charity envieth not, charity 
vaunteth not itself, is not puffed up, doth not behave itself unseemly, 
seeketh not her own, is not easily provoked, thinketh no evil; re- 
joiceth not in iniquity, but rejoiceth in the truth; beareth all things, 
believeth all things, hopeth all things, endureth all things. 

Charity never faileth: but whether there be prophecies, they shall 
fail; whether there be tongues, they shall cease; whether there be 
knowledge, it shall vanish away. For we know in part, and we 
prophesy in part. But when that which is perfect is come, then that 
which is in part shall be done away. When I was a child, I spake 
as a child, I understood as a child, I thought as a child : but when I 
became a man, I put away childish things. For now we see through 
a glass, darkly; but then face to face: now I know in part; but then 
shall I know even as also I am known. 

And now abideth faith, hope, charity, these three; but the greatest 
of these is charity. 


LETTERS 

LEWIS CARROLL TO MISS STANDEN 


The Chestnuts, Guilford 
August 22, 1869 

My dear Isabel: 1 

Though I have been acquainted with you only fifteen minutes, yet, 
as there is no one else in Reading I have known so long, I hope you 
will not mind my writing to you. ... A friend of mine, called Mr. 
Lewis Carroll, tells me he means to send you a book. He is a very 
dear friend of mine. I have known him all my life (we are the 
same age) and have never left him. Of course he was with me in 
the Gardens, not a yard off, even while I was drawing those puzzles 
for you. I wonder if you saw him. 

Your fifteen-minute friend, 


C. L. Dodgson 


THOMAS HOOD TO MISS ELLIOT 


17, Elm Tree Road, St. John’s Wood 
Monday, April , 1844 

My dear May , 2 — 

I promised you a letter, and here it is. I was sure to remember 
it; for you are as hard to forget, as you are soft to roll down a hill 
with. What fun it was! only so prickly, I thought I had a porcupine 
in one pocket, and a hedgehog in the other. The next time, before 
we kiss the earth, we will have its face shaved well. Did you ever 
go to Greenwich Fair? I should like to go there with you, for I 
get no rolling at St. John’s Wood. Tom and Fanny 3 only like roll 
and butter, and as for Mrs. Hood, she is for rolling in money. 

Tell Dunnie that Tom has set his trap in the balcony and has 
caught a cold, and tell Jeanie that Fanny has set her foot in the 
garden, but it has not come up yet. Oh, how I wish it was the 
season when “ March winds and April showers bring forth May 
flowers! ” for then of course you would give me another pretty little 
nosegay. Besides it is frosty and foggy weather, which I do not 
like. The other night, when I came from Stratford, the cold shriv- 
eled me up so, that when I got home, I thought I was my own child ! 

1 Little Miss Isabel Standen, whom Carroll had just met in a park in Reading. 

2 May Elliot, a little girl Hood had met during a summer vacation. 

3 Hood’s son and daughter. 


421 


422 


Types of Childrens Literature 

However, I hope we shall all have a merry Christmas; I mean to 
come in my most ticklesome waistcoat, and to laugh till I grow fat, 
or at least streaky. Fanny is to be allowed a glass of wine, Tom’s 
mouth is to have a hole holiday, and Mrs. Hood is to sit up for sup- 
per! There will be doings! And then such good things to eat; but, 
pray, pray, pray, mind they don’t boil the baby by a mistake for a 
plump pudding, instead of a plum one. 

Give my love to everybody, from yourself down to Willy, with 
which and a kiss, I remain, up hill and down dale, 

Your affectionate lover, 

Thomas Hood 

CHARLES DICKENS TO MASTER HUGHES 1 

Doughty Street, London 
Dec. 12th, 1838 

Respected Sir, 

I have given Squeers one cut on the neck and two on the head, at 
which he appeared much surprised and began to cry, which, being a 
cowardly thing, is just what I should have expected from him — 
wouldn’t you? 

I have carefully done what you told me in your letter about the 
lamb and the two “ sheeps ” for the little boys. They have also 
had some good ale and porter, and some wine. I am sorry you 
didn’t say what wine you would like them to have. I gave them 
some sherry, which they liked very much, except one boy, who was 
a little sick and choked a good deal. He was rather greedy, and 
that’s the truth, and I believe it went the wrong way, which I say 
served him right, and I hope you will say so too. 

Nicholas had his roast lamb, as you said he was to, but he could 
not eat it all, and says if you do not mind his doing so he should 
like to have the rest hashed tomorrow with some greens, which he is 
very fond of, and so am I. He said he did not like to have his 
porter hot, for he thought it spoilt the flavor, so I let him have it 
cold. You should have seen him drink it. I thought he never 
would have left off. I also gave him three pounds of money, all in 
sixpences, to make it seem more, and he said directly that he should 
give more than half to his mamma and sister, and divide the rest 
with poor Smike. And I say he is a good fellow for saying so; 

1 Master Hughes had written to Dickens about Nicholas Nickleby, protest- 
ing against Squeers’ school. 


Letters 423 

and if anybody says he isn’t I am ready to fight him whenever they 
like — there ! 

Fanny Squeers shall be attended to, depend upon it. Your draw- 
ing of her is very like, except that I don’t think the hair is quite 
curly enough. The nose is particularly like hers, and so are the 
legs. She is a nasty, disagreeable thing, and I know it will make 
her very cross when she sees it; and what I say is that I hope it may. 
You will say the same, I know — at least I think you will. 

I meant to have written you a long letter, but I cannot write very 
fast when I like the person I am writing to, because that makes me 
think about them, and I like you, and so I tell you. Besides, it is 
just eight o’clock at night, and I always go to bed at eight o’clock, 
except when it is my birthday, and then I sit up to supper. So I 
will not say anything more besides this — and that is my love to you 
and Neptune; and if you will drink my health every Christmas Day 
I will drink yours — come. 

I am, 

Respected Sir, 

Your affectionate Friend 

P. S. — I don’t write my name very plain, but you know what it is, 
you know, so never mind. 







































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ESSAYS 


TRAITS OF INDIAN CHARACTER 
Washington Irving 

“I appeal to any white man if ever he entered Logan’s cabin hungry, and 
he gave him not to eat; if ever he came cold and naked, and he clothed him 
not.” 

Speech of an Indian Chief 

There is something in the character and habits of the North 
American savage, taken in connection with the scenery over which 
he is accustomed to range, — its vast lakes, boundless forests, ma- 
jestic rivers, and trackless plains, — that is to my mind wonderfully 
striking and sublime. He is formed for the wilderness, as the Arab 
is for the desert. His nature is stern, simple, and enduring; fitted 
to grapple with difficulties and to support privations. There seems 
but little soil in his heart for the support of the kindly virtues; 
and yet, if we would but take the trouble to penetrate through that 
proud stoicism and habitual taciturnity which lock up his character 
from casual observation, we should find him linked to his fellow 
man of civilized life by more of those sympathies and affections than 
are usually ascribed to him. 

It has been the lot of the unfortunate aborigines of America, in 
the early periods of colonization, to be doubly wronged by the 
white men: they have been dispossessed of their hereditary posses- 
sions by mercenary and frequently wanton warfare, and their char- 
acters have been traduced by bigoted and interested writers. The 
colonist often treated them like beasts of the forest, and the author 
has endeavored to justify him in his outrages. The former found it 
easier to exterminate than to civilize, the -latter to vilify than to 
discriminate. The appellations of “ savage ” and “ pagan ” were 
deemed sufficient to sanction the hostilities of both ; and thus the poor 
wanderers of the forest were persecuted and defamed, not because 
they were guilty, but because they were ignorant. 

The rights of the savage have seldom been properly appreciated 
or respected by the white man. In peace he has too often been the 
dupe of artful traffic; in war he has been regarded as a ferocious 
animal whose life or death was a question of mere precaution and 
convenience. Man is cruelly wasteful of life when his own safety is 
endangered and he is sheltered by impunity, and little mercy is to be 

425 


426 


Types of Childrens Literature 

expected from him when he feels the sting of the reptile and is con- 
scious of the power to destroy. 

The same prejudices which were indulged thus early exist in com- 
mon circulation at the present day. Certain learned societies have, 
it is true, with laudable diligence endeavored to investigate and 
record the real characters and manners of the Indian tribes; the 
American government, too, has wisely and humanely exerted itself 
to inculcate a friendly and forbearing spirit towards them, and to 
protect them from fraud and injustice . 1 The current opinion of the 
Indian character, however, is too apt to be formed from the miserable 
hordes which infest the frontiers and hang on the skirts of the settle- 
ments. These are too commonly composed of degenerate beings, 
corrupted and enfeebled by the vices of society, without being bene- 
fited by its civilization. That proud independence which formed the 
main pillar of savage virtue has been shaken down, and the whole 
moral fabric lies in ruins. Their spirits are humiliated and debased 
by a sense of inferiority, and their native courage cowed and daunted 
by the superior knowledge and power of their enlightened neighbors. 
Society has advanced upon them like one of those withering airs that 
will sometimes breed desolation over a whole region of fertility. It 
has enervated their strength, multiplied their diseases, and superin- 
duced upon their original barbarity the low vices of artificial life. 
It has given them a thousand superfluous wants, whilst it has dimin- 
ished their means of mere existence. It has driven before it the 
animals of the chase, who fly from the sound of the ax and the 
smoke of the settlement, and seek refuge in the depths of remoter 
forests and yet untrodden wilds. Thus do we too often find the 
Indians on our frontiers to be the mere wrecks and remnants of once 
powerful tribes, who have lingered in the vicinity of the settlements, 
and sunk into a precarious and vagabond existence. Poverty, repin- 
ing and hopeless poverty, a canker of the mind unknown in savage 
life, corrodes their spirits and blights every free and noble quality 
of their natures. They become drunken, indolent, feeble, thievish, 
and pusillanimous. They loiter like vagrants about the settlements, 
among spacious dwellings replete with elaborate comforts which 

1 The American government has been indefatigable in its exertions to amel- 
iorate the situation of the Indians, and to introduce among them the arts of 
civilization and civil and religious knowledge. To protect them from the frauds 
of the white traders, no purchase of land from them by individuals is per- 
mitted; nor is any person allowed to receive lands from them as a present, 
without the express sanction of government. These precautions are strictly 
enforced. 


Essays 427 

only render them sensible of the comparative wretchedness of their 
own condition. Luxury spreads its ample board before their eyes, 
but they are excluded from the banquet. Plenty revels over the 
fields; but they are starving in the midst of its abundance; the whole 
wilderness has blossomed into a garden, but they feel as reptiles 
that infest it. 

How different was their state while yet the undisputed lords of the 
soil! Their wants were few, and the means of gratification within 
their reach. They saw every one around them sharing the same lot, 
enduring the same hardships,- feeding on the same aliments, arrayed 
in the same rude garments. No roof then rose but was open to the 
homeless stranger; no smoke curled among the trees but he was 
welcome to sit down by its fire and join the hunter in his repast. 
“ For,” says an old historian of New England, “ their life is so void 
of care, and they are so loving also, that they make use of those 
things they enjoy as common goods, and are therein so compassion- 
ate that rather than one should starve through want, they would 
starve all; thus they pass their time merrily, not regarding our 
pomp, but are better content with their own, which some men esteem 
so meanly of.” Such were the Indians whilst in the pride and energy 
of their primitive natures; they resembled those wild plants which 
thrive best in the shades of the forest, but shrink from the hand of 
cultivation and perish beneath the influence of the sun. 

In discussing the savage character, writers have been too prone to 
indulge in vulgar prejudice and passionate exaggeration, instead of 
the candid temper of true philosophy. They have not sufficiently 
considered the peculiar circumstances in which the Indians have 
been placed, and the peculiar principles under which they have been 
educated. No being acts more rigidly from rule than the Indian. 
His whole conduct is regulated according to some general maxims 
early implanted in his mind. The moral laws that govern him are, 
to be sure, but few — but then he conforms to them all; the white 
man abounds in laws of religion, morals, and manners — but how 
many does he violate? 

A frequent ground of accusation against the Indians is their 
disregard of treaties, and the treachery and wantonness with which, 
in time of apparent peace, they will suddenly fly to hostilities. The 
intercourse of the white men with the Indians, however, is too apt to 
be cold, distrustful, oppressive, and insulting. They seldom treat 
them with that confidence and frankness which are indispensable to 
real friendship, nor is sufficient caution observed not to offend 


428 


Types of Childrens Literature 

against those feelings of pride or superstition which often prompt 
the Indian to hostility quicker than mere considerations of interest. 
The solitary savage feels silently, but acutely. His sensibilities are 
not diffused over so wide a surface as those of the white man, but 
they run in steadier and deeper channels. His pride, his affections, 
his superstitions, are all directed towards fewer objects; but the 
wounds inflicted on them are proportionately severe, and furnish 
motives of hostility which we cannot sufficiently appreciate. Where 
a community is also limited in number, and forms one great patri- 
archal family, as in an Indian tribe, the injury of an individual is 
the injury of the whole, and the sentiment of vengeance is almost 
instantaneously diffused. One council fire is sufficient for the dis- 
cussion and arrangement of a plan of hostilities. Here all the fight- 
ing men and sages assemble. Eloquence and superstition combine 
to inflame the minds of the warriors. The orator awakens their 
martial ardor, and they are wrought up to a kind of religious des- 
peration by the visions of the prophet and the dreamer. 

An instance of one of those sudden exasperations, arising from a 
motive peculiar to the Indian character, is extant in an old record 
of the early settlement of Massachusetts. The planters of Plymouth 
had defaced the monuments of the dead at Passonagessit, and had 
plundered the grave of the sachem’s mother of some skins with which 
it had been decorated. The Indians are remarkable for the rever- 
ence which they entertain for the sepulchers of their kindred. Tribes 
that have passed generations exiled from the abodes of their ances- 
tors, when by chance they have been traveling in the vicinity, have 
been known to turn aside from the highway, and guided by wonder- 
fully accurate tradition have crossed the country for miles to some 
tumulus, buried perhaps in woods, where the bones of their tribe 
were anciently deposited, and there have passed hours in silent medi- 
tation. Influenced by this sublime and holy feeling, the sachem 
whose mother’s tomb had been violated gathered his men together 
and addressed them in the following beautifully simple and pathetic 
harangue — a curious specimen of Indian eloquence, and an affect- 
ing instance of filial piety in a savage: — 

“ When last the glorious light of all the sky was underneath this 
globe, and birds grew silent, I began to settle, as my custom is, 
to take repose. Before mine eyes were fast closed, methought I saw 
a vision, at which my spirit was much troubled; and trembling at 
that doleful sight, a spirit cried aloud: ‘ Behold, my son, whom I 
have cherished, see the breasts that gave thee suck, the hands that 


429 


Essays 

lapped thee warm, and fed thee oft. Canst thou forget to take re- 
venge of those wild people who have defaced my monument in a 
despiteful manner, disdaining our antiquities and honorable cus- 
toms? See now the sachem’s grave lies like the common -people, 
defaced by an ignoble race. Thy mother doth complain, and im- 
plores thy aid against this thievish people who have newly intruded 
on our land. If this be suffered, I shall not rest quiet in my ever- 
lasting habitation.’ This said, the spirit vanished, and I, all in a 
sweat, not able scarce to speak, began to get some strength and recol- 
lect my spirits that were fled, and determined to demand your coun- 
sel and assistance.” 

I have adduced this anecdote at some length, as it tends to show 
how these sudden acts of hostility, which have been attributed to 
caprice and perfidy, may often arise from deep and generous motives 
which our inattention to Indian character and customs prevents our 
properly appreciating. 

Another ground of violent outcry against the Indians is their bar- 
barity to the vanquished. This had its origin partly in policy and 
partly in superstition. The tribes, though sometimes called nations, 
were never so formidable in their numbers but the loss of several 
warriors was sensibly felt. This was particularly the case when they 
had frequently been engaged in warfare; and many an instance 
occurs in Indian history, where a tribe that had long been formi- 
dable to its neighbors has been broken up and driven away by the 
capture and massacre of its principal fighting men. There was a 
strong temptation, therefore, to the victor to be merciless; not so 
much to gratify any cruel revenge, as to provide for future security. 
The Indians had also the superstitious belief, frequent among bar- 
barous nations and prevalent also among the ancients, that the manes 
of their friends who had fallen in battle were soothed by the blood 
of the captives. The prisoners, however, who are not thus sacrificed, 
are adopted into their families in the place of the slain, and are 
treated with the confidence and affection of relatives and friends; 
nay, so hospitable and tender is their entertainment, that when the 
alternative is offered them, they will often prefer to remain with their 
adopted brethren rather than return to the home and the friends of 
their youth. 

The cruelty of the Indians toward their prisoners has been height- 
ened since the colonization of the whites. What was formerly a 
compliance with policy and superstition has been exasperated into 
a gratification of vengeance. They cannot but be sensible that the 


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Types of Children s Literature 

white men are the usurpers of their ancient dominion, the cause of 
their degradation, and the gradual destroyers of their race. They 
go forth to battle smarting with injuries and indignities which they 
have individually suffered, and they are driven to madness and 
despair by the wide-spreading desolation and the overwhelming 
ruin of European warfare. The whites have too frequently set them 
an example of violence, by burning their villages and laying waste 
their slender means of subsistence; and yet they wonder that savages 
do not show moderation and magnanimity towards those who have 
left them nothing but mere existence and wretchedness. 

We stigmatize the Indians, also, as cowardly and treacherous, be- 
cause they use stratagem in warfare in preference to open force; 
but in this they are fully justified by their rude code of honor. 
They are early taught that stratagem is praiseworthy. The bravest 
warrior thinks it no disgrace to lurk in silence and take every advan- 
tage of his foe; he triumphs in the superior craft and sagacity by 
which he has been enabled to surprise and destroy an enemy. In- 
deed, man is naturally more prone to subtility than open valor, 
owing to his physical weakness in comparison with other animals. 
They are endowed with natural weapons of defense — with horns, 
with tusks, with hoofs, and talons; but man has to depend on his 
superior sagacity. In all his encounters with these, his proper 
enemies, he resorts to stratagem; and when he perversely turns his 
hostility against his fellow man, he at first continues the same subtle 
mode of warfare. 

The natural principle of war is to do the most harm to our enemy 
with the least harm to ourselves; and this, of course, is to be 
effected by stratagem. That chivalrous courage which induces us to 
despise the suggestions of prudence and to rush in the face of cer- 
tain danger is the offspring of society, and produced by education. 
It is honorable, because it is in fact the triumph of lofty sentiment 
over an instinctive repugnance to pain, and over those yearnings 
after personal ease and security which society has condemned as 
ignoble. It is kept alive by pride and the fear of shame, and 
thus the dread of real evil is overcome by the superior dread of an 
evil which exists but in the imagination. It has been cherished and 
stimulated also by various means. It has been the theme of spirit- 
stirring song and chivalrous story. The poet and minstrel have 
delighted to shed round it the splendors of fiction, and even the his- 
torian has forgotten the sober gravity of narration, and broken forth 
into enthusiasm and rhapsody in its praise. Triumphs and gor- 


431 


Essays 

geous pageants have been its reward; monuments on which art has 
exhausted its skilly and opulence its treasures, have been erected to 
perpetuate a nation’s gratitude and admiration. Thus artificially 
excited, courage has risen to an extraordinary and factitious degree 
of heroism; and arrayed in all the glorious 44 pomp and circumstance 
of war,” this turbulent quality has even been able to eclipse many of 
those quiet but invaluable virtues which silently ennoble the human 
character and swell the tide of human happiness. 

But if courage intrinsically consists in the defiance of danger and 
pain, the life of the Indian is a continual exhibition of it. He lives 
in a state of perpetual hostility and risk. Peril and adventure are 
congenial to his nature, or rather seem necessary to arouse his fac- 
ulties and to give an interest to his existence. Surrounded by hos- 
tile tribes whose mode of warfare is by ambush and surprisal, he is 
always prepared for fight, and lives with his weapons in his hands. 
As the ship careers in fearful singleness through the solitudes of 
ocean, as the bird mingles among clouds and storms, and wings its 
way, a mere speck, across the pathless fields of air, so the Indian 
holds his course, silent, solitary, but undaunted, through the bound- 
less bosom of the wilderness. His expeditions may vie in distance 
and danger with the pilgrimage of the devotee or the crusade of the 
knight-errant. He traverses vast forests, exposed to the hazards 
of lonely sickness, of lurking enemies, and pining famine. Stormy 
lakes, those great inland seas, are no obstacles to his wanderings; in 
his light canoe of bark he sports like a feather on their waves, and 
darts with the swiftness of an arrow down the roaring rapids of the 
rivers. His very subsistence is snatched from the midst of toil and 
peril. He gains his food by the hardships and dangers of the chase; 
he wraps himself in the spoils of the bear, the panther, and the 
buffalo, and sleeps among the thunders of the cataract. 

No hero of ancient or modern days can surpass the Indian in 
his lofty contempt of death and the fortitude with which he sus- 
tains its crudest infliction. Indeed, we here behold him rising supe- 
rior to the white man in consequence of his peculiar education. 
The latter rushes to glorious death at the cannon’s mouth ; the former 
calmly contemplates its approach, and triumphantly endures it, 
amidst the varied torments of surrounding foes and the protracted 
agonies of fire. He even takes a pride in taunting his persecutors 
and provoking their ingenuity of torture; and as the devouring 
flames prey on his very vitals and the flesh shrinks from the sinews he 
raises his last song of triumph, breathing the defiance of an uncon- 


432 


Types of Childrens Literature 

quered heart and invoking the spirits of his fathers to witness that he 
dies without a groan. 

Notwithstanding the obloquy with which the early historians have 
overshadowed the characters of the unfortunate natives, some bright 
gleams occasionally break through which throw a degree of melan- 
choly luster on their memories. Facts are occasionally to be met 
with in the rude annals of the eastern provinces, which, though 
recorded with the coloring of prejudice and bigotry, yet speak for 
themselves, and will be dwelt on with applause and sympathy when 
prejudice shall have passed away. 

In one of the homely narratives of the Indian wars in New 
England, there is a touching account of the desolation carried into 
the tribe of the Pequod Indians. Humanity shrinks from the cold- 
blooded detail of indiscriminate butchery. In one place we read of 
the surprisal of an Indian fort in the night, when the wigwams were 
wrapped in flames, and the miserable inhabitants shot down and 
slain in attempting to escape, “ all being dispatched and ended in 
the course of an hour.” After a series of similar transactions, “ our 
soldiers,” as the historian piously observes, “ being resolved by 
God’s assistance to make a final destruction of them,” the unhappy 
savages being hunted from their homes and fortresses and pursued 
with fire and sword, a scanty but gallant band, the sad remnant of the 
Pequod warriors, with their wives and children, took refuge in a 
swamp. 

Burning with indignation and rendered sullen by despair, with 
hearts bursting with grief at the destruction of their tribe and spirits 
galled and sore at the fancied ignominy of their defeat, they refused 
to ask their lives at the hands of an insulting foe, and preferred 
death to submission. 

As the night drew on they were surrounded in their dismal retreat 
so as to render escape impracticable. Thus situated, their enemy 
“ plied them with shot all the time, by which means many w.ere 
killed and buried in the mire.” In the darkness and fog that pre- 
ceded the dawn of day some few broke through the besiegers and 
escaped into the woods; “the rest were left to the conquerors, of 
which many were killed in the swamp, like sullen dogs who would 
rather, in their self-willedness and madness, sit still and be shot 
through or cut to pieces,” than implore for mercy. When the day 
broke upon this handful of forlorn but dauntless spirits, the sol- 
diers, we are told, entering the swamp, “ saw several heaps of them 
sitting close together, upon whom they discharged their pieces laden 


433 


Essays 

with ten or twelve pistol bullets at a time, putting the muzzles of the 
pieces under the boughs within a few yards of them; so as, besides 
those that were found dead, many more were killed and sunk into 
the mire, and never were minded more by friend or foe.” 

Can any one read this plain, unvarnished tale without admiring 
the stern resolution, the unbending pride, the loftiness of spirit that 
seemed to nerve the hearts of these self-taught heroes and to raise 
them above the instinctive feelings of human nature? When the 
Gauls laid waste the city of Rome, they found the senators clothed 
in their robes and seated with stern tranquillity in their curule 
chairs; in this manner they suffered death without resistance or 
even supplication. Such conduct was, in them, applauded as noble 
and magnanimous; in the hapless Indian it was reviled as obstinate 
and sullen! How truly are we the dupes of show and circumstance! 
How different is virtue clothed in purple and enthroned in state 
from virtue naked and destitute and perishing obscurely in a wil- 
derness! 

But I forbear to dwell on these gloomy pictures. The Eastern 
tribes have long since disappeared; the forests that sheltered them 
have been laid low, and scarce any traces remain of them in the 
thickly settled states of New England, excepting here and there the 
Indian name of a village or a stream. And such must, sooner or 
later, be the fate of those other tribes which skirt the frontiers, 
and have occasionally been inveigled from their forests to mingle in 
the wars of white men. In a little while, and they will go the way 
that their brethren have gone before. The few hordes which still 
linger about the shores of Huron and Superior and the tributary 
streams of the Mississippi will share the fate of those tribes that 
once spread over Massachusetts and Connecticut and lorded it along 
the proud banks of the Hudson, of that gigantic race said to have 
existed on the borders of the Susquehanna, and of those various na- 
tions that flourished about the Potomac and the Rappahannock, and 
that peopled the forests of the vast valley of Shenandoah. They 
will vanish like a vapor from the face of the earth, their very history 
will be lost in forgetfulness, and “ the places that now know them 
will know them no more forever.” Or if, perchance, some dubious 
memorial of them should survive, it may be in the romantic dreams 
of the poet, to people in imagination his glades and groves, like the 
fauns and satyrs and sylvan deities of antiquity. But should he 
venture upon the dark story of their wrongs and wretchedness; 
should he tell how they were invaded, corrupted, despoiled, driven 


434 


Types of Childrens Literature 

from their native abodes and the sepulchers of their fathers; hunted 
like wild beasts about the earth, and sent down with violence and 
butchery to the grave, posterity will either turn with horror and 
incredulity from the tale, or blush with indignation at the inhuman- 
ity of their forefathers. “ We are driven back,” said an old war- 
rior, “ until we can retreat no farther ; our hatchets are broken, our 
bows are snapped, our fires are nearly extinguished; a little longer, 
and the white man will cease to persecute us — for we shall cease to 
exist! ” 

OF STUDIES 
Francis Bacon 

Studies serve for delight, for ornament, and for ability. Their 
chief use for delight is in privateness and retiring; for ornament, 
is in discourse; and for ability, is in the judgment and disposition 
of business. For expert men can execute, and perhaps judge of 
particulars, one by one; but the general counsels, and the plots and 
marshaling of affairs, come best from those that are learned. To 
spend too much time in studies is sloth; to use them too much for 
ornament is affectation; to make judgment wholly by their rules is 
the humor of a scholar. They perfect nature, and are perfected 
by experience; for natural abilities are like natural plants, that need 
proyning by study; and studies themselves do give forth directions 
too much at large, except they be bounded in by experience. Crafty 
men contemn studies; simple men admire them; and wise men use 
them: for they teach not their own use; but that is a wisdom with- 
out them and above them, won by observation. Read not to con- 
tradict and confute; nor to believe and take for granted; nor to 
find talk and discourse; but to weigh and consider. Some books 
are to be tasted, others to be swallowed, and some few to be chewed 
and digested : that is, some books are to be read only in parts ; others 
to be read, but not curiously; and some few to be read wholly, and 
with diligence and attention. Some books also may be read by dep- 
uty, and extracts made of them by others; but that would be only in 
the less important arguments, and the meaner sort of books; else dis- 
tilled books are like common distilled waters, flashy things. Read- 
ing maketh a full man ; conference a ready man ; and writing an exact 
man. And therefore, if a man write little, he had need have a great 
memory; if he confer little, he had need have a present wit; and if 
he read little, he had need have much cunning, to seem to know 


435 


Essays 

that he doth not. Histories make men wise; poets witty; the mathe- 
matics subtle; natural philosophy deep; moral grave; logic and 
rhetoric able to contend. Abeunt studia in mores. Nay, there is no 
stond or impediment in the wit, but may be wrought out by fit 
studies: like as diseases of the body may have appropriate exer- 
cises. Bowling is for the stone and reins; shooting for the lungs 
and breast; gentle walking for the stomach; riding for the head; and 
the like. So if a man’s wit be wandering, let him study the mathe- 
matics; for in demonstrations, if his wit be called away never so 
little, he must begin again: if his wit be not apt to distinguish or 
find differences, let him study the schoolmen; for they are cymini 
sectores: if he be not apt to beat over matters, and to call one thing 
to prove and illustrate another, let him study the lawyers’ cases: 
so every defect of the mind may have a special receipt. 

THE AMERICAN BOY 1 
Theodore Roosevelt 

Of course what we have a right to expect of the American boy is 
that he shall turn out to be a good American man. Now, the 
chances are strong that he won’t be much of a man unless he is a 
good deal of a boy. He must not be a coward or a weakling, a 
bully, a shirk, or a prig. He must work hard and play hard. He 
must be clean-minded and clean-lived, and able to hold his own 
under all circumstances and against all comers. It is only on these 
conditions that he will grow into the kind of American man of 
whom America can be really proud. 

There are always in life countless tendencies for good and for 
evil, and each succeeding generation sees some of these tendencies 
strengthened and some weakened; nor is it by any means always, 
alas! that the tendencies for evil are weakened and those for good 
strengthened. But during the last few decades there certainly have 
been some notable changes for good in boy life. The great growth 
in the love of athletic sports, for instance, while fraught with dan- 
ger if it becomes one-sided and unhealthy, has beyond all question 
had an excellent effect in increased manliness. Forty or fifty years 
ago the writer on American morals was sure to deplore the effemi- 
nacy and luxury of young Americans who were born of rich par- 

1 From The Strenuous Life. Copyright, 1911, by The Century Company, 
New York. Used by permission of the author and the publishers. 


436 


Types of Children s Literature 

ents. The boy who was well off then, especially in the big East- 
ern cities, lived too luxuriously, took to billiards as his chief inno- 
cent recreation, and felt small shame in his inability to take part 
in rough pastimes and field-sports. Nowadays, whatever other 
faults the son of rich parents may tend to develop, he is at least 
forced by the opinion of all his associates of his own age to bear 
himself well in manly exercises and to develop his body — and 
therefore, to a certain extent, his character — in the rough sports 
which call for pluck, endurance, and physical address. 

Of course boys who live under such fortunate conditions that 
they have to do either a good deal of outdoor work or a good deal 
of what might be called natural outdoor play do not need the 
athletic development. In the Civil War the soldiers who came from 
the prairie and the backwoods and the rugged farms where stumps 
still dotted the clearings, and who had learned to ride in their in- 
fancy, to shoot as soon as they could handle a rifle, and to camp 
out whenever they got the chance, were better fitted for military 
work than any set of mere school or college athletes could possibly 
be. Moreover, to mis-estimate athletics is equally bad whether their 
importance is magnified or minimized. The Greeks were famous 
athletes, and as long as their athletic training had a normal place 
in their lives, it was a good thing. But it was a very bad thing 
when they kept up their athletic games while letting the stern quali- 
ties of soldiership and statesmanship sink into disuse. Some of the 
younger readers of this book will certainly sometime read the 
famous letters of the younger Pliny, a Roman who wrote, with what 
seems to us a curiously modern touch, in the first century of the 
present era. His correspondence with the Emperor Trajan is par- 
ticularly interesting; and not the least noteworthy thing in it is 
the tone of contempt with which he speaks of the Greek athletic 
sports, treating them as the diversions of an unwarlike people which 
it was safe to encourage in order to keep the Greeks from turning 
into anything formidable. So at one time the Persian kings had to 
forbid polo, because soldiers neglected their proper duties for the 
fascinations of the game. We cannot expect the best work from 
soldiers who have carried to an unhealthy extreme the sports and 
pastimes which would be healthy if indulged in with moderation, 
and have neglected to learn as they should the business of their 
profession. A soldier needs to know how to shoot and take cover 
and shift for himself — not to box or to play football. There is, 
of course, always the risk of thus mistaking means for ends. Fox- 


437 


Essays 

hunting is a first-class sport; but one of the most absiird things in 
real life is to note the bated breath which certain excellent fox- 
hunters, otherwise quite healthy minds, speak of this admirable, but 
not over-important pastime. They tend to make it almost as much 
of a fetich as, in the last century, the French and German nobles 
made the chase of the stag, when they carried hunting and game- 
preserving to a point which was ruinous to the national life. Fox- 
hunting is very good as a pastime, but it is about as poor a business 
as can be followed by any man of intelligence. Certain writers 
about it are fond of quoting the anecdote of the fox-hunter who, in 
the days of the English civil war, was discovered pursuing his favor- 
ite sport just before a great battle between the Cavaliers and the 
Puritans, and right between their lines as they came together. These 
writers apparently consider it a merit in this man that when his 
country was in a death-grapple, instead of taking arms and hurry- 
ing to the defense of the cause he believed right, he should have 
placidly gone about his usual sports. Of course, in reality the chief 
serious use of fox-hunting is to encourage manliness and vigor, and 
to keep men hardy, so that at need they can show themselves fit to 
take part in work or strife for their native land. When a man so 
far confuses ends and means as to think that fox-hunting, or polo, or 
football, or whatever else the sport may be, is to be itself taken as 
the end, instead of the mere means of preparation to do work that 
counts when the time arises, when the occasion calls — why, that 
man had better abandon sport altogether. 

No boy can afford to neglect his work, and with a boy work, as a 
rule, means study. Of course there are occasionally brilliant suc- 
cesses in life where a man has been worthless as a student when a 
boy. To take these exceptions as examples would be as unsafe 
as it would be to advocate blindness because some blind men have 
won undying honor by triumphing over their physical infirmity 
and accomplishing great results in the world. I am no advocate of 
senseless and excessive cramming in studies, but a boy should work, 
and should work hard, at his lessons — in the first place, for the 
sake of what he will learn and in the next place, for the sake of the 
effect upon his own character of resolutely settling down to learn it. 
Shiftlessness, slackness, indifference in studying, are almost certain 
to mean inability to get on in other walks of life. Of course, as a 
boy grows older it is a good thing if he can shape his studies in 
the direction toward which he has a natural bent; but whether he can 
do this or not, he must put his whole heart into them. I do not 


438 


Types of Childrens Literature 

believe in mischief-doing in school hours, or in the kind of animal 
spirits that results in making bad scholars; and I believe that these 
boys who take part in rough, hard play outside of school will not 
find any need for horse-play in school. While they study they 
should study just as hard as they play football in a match game. 
It is wise to obey the homely old adage, “Work while you work; 
play while you play.” 

A boy needs both physical and moral courage. Neither can take 
the place of the other. When boys become men they will find out 
that there are some soldiers very brave in the field who have proved 
timid and worthless as politicians, and some politicians who show 
an entire readiness to take chances and assume responsibilities in 
civil affairs, but who lack the fighting edge when opposed to physical 
danger. In each case, with soldiers and politicians alike, there is 
but half a virtue. The possession of the courage of the soldier does 
not excuse the lack of courage in the statesman, and even less does 
the possession of the courage of the statesman excuse shrinking on 
the field of battle. Now, this is all just as true of boys. A coward 
who will take a blow without returning it is a contemptible crea- 
ture; but after all, he is hardly as contemptible as the boy who 
does not stand up for what he deems right against the sneers of his 
companions who are themselves wrong. Ridicule is one of the fa- 
vorite weapons of wickedness, and it is sometimes incomprehensi- 
ble how good and brave boys will be influenced for evil by the 
jeers of associates who have no one quality that calls for respect, but 
who affect to laugh at the very traits which ought to be peculiarly 
the cause for pride. 

There is no need to be a prig. There is no need for a boy to 
preach about his own conduct and virtue. If he does he will make 
himself offensive and ridiculous. But there is urgent need that he 
should practice decency; that he should be clean and straight, honest 
and truthful, gentle and tender, as well as brave. If he can once 
get to a proper understanding of things, he will have a far more 
hearty contempt for the boy who has begun a course of feeble dissi- 
pation, or who is untruthful, or mean, or dishonest, or cruel, than 
this boy and his fellows can possibly, in return, feel for him. The 
very fact that the boy should be manly and able to hold his own, 
that he should be ashamed to submit to bullying, without instant re- 
taliation, should, in return, make him abhor any form of bullying, 
cruelty, or brutality. 

There are two delightful books, Thomas Hughes’s “ Tom Brown 


439 


Essays 

at Rugby” and Aldrich’s 44 Story of a Bad Boy,” which I hope 
every boy still reads; and I think American boys will always feel 
more in sympathy with Aldrich’s story, because there is in it none 
of the fagging, and the bullying which goes with fagging, the ac- 
count of which, and the acceptance of which, always puzzles an 
American admirer of Tom Brown. 

There is the same contrast between two stories of Kipling’s. 
One, called Captains Courageous,” describes in the liveliest way 
just what a boy should be and do. The hero is painted in the be- 
ginning as the spoiled, over-indulged child of wealthy parents, of a 
type which we do sometimes unfortunately see, and than which 
there exist few things more objectionable on the face of the broad 
earth. This boy is afterward thrown on his own resources, amid 
wholesome surroundings, and is forced to work hard among boys 
and men who are real boys and real men doing real work. The 
effect is invaluable. On the other hand, if one wishes to find types 
of boys to be avoided with utter dislike, one will find them in an- 
other story by Kipling, called 44 Stalky & Co.,” a story which ought 
never to have been written, for there is hardly a single form of 
meanness which it does not seem to extol, or of school mismanage- 
ment which it does not seem to applaud. Bullies do not make 
brave men; and boys or men of foul life cannot become good 
citizens, good Americans, until they change; and even after the 
change scars will be left on their souls. 

The boy can best become a good man by being a good boy — not 
a goody-goody boy, but just a plain good boy. I do not mean 
that he must love only the negative virtues; I mean he must love 
the positive virtues also. 44 Good,” in the largest sense, should in- 
clude whatever is fine, straightforward, clean, brave, and manly. 
The best boys I know — the best men I know — are good at their 
studies or their business, fearless and stalwart, hated and feared by 
all that is wicked and depraved, incapable of submitting to wrong- 
doing, and equally incapable of being aught but tender to the weak 
and helpless. A healthy-minded boy should feel hearty contempt 
for the coward, and even more hearty indignation for the boy who 
bullies girls or small boys, or tortures animals. One prime reason 
for abhorring cowards is because every good boy should have it in 
him to thrash the objectionable boy as the need arises. 

Of course the effect that a thoroughly manly, thoroughly straight 
and upright boy can have upon the companions of his own age, and 
upon those who are younger, is incalculable. If he is not thor- 


440 Types of Childrens Literature 

oughly manly, then they will not respect him, and his good quali- 
ties will count for but little; while, of course, if he is mean, cruel, 
or wicked, then his physical strength and force of mind merely 
make him so much the more objectionable a member of society. 
He cannot do good work if he is not strong and does not try with 
his whole heart and soul to count in any contest; and his strength 
will be a curse to himself and to every one else if he does not have 
thorough command over himself and over his own evil passions, and 
if he does not use his strength on the side of decency, justice, and 
fair dealing. 

In short, in life, as in a football game, the principle to follow 
is: Hit the line hard; don’t foul and don’t shirk, but hit the line 
hard! 


ORATIONS 

GIVE ME LIBERTY OR GIVE ME DEATH 
Patrick Henry 

Mr. President: No man thinks more highly than I do of the 
patriotism, as well as abilities, of the very worthy gentlemen who 
have just addressed the house. But different men often see the same 
subject in different lights; and, therefore, I hope it will not be 
thought disrespectful to those gentlemen, if, entertaining as I do, 
opinions of a character very opposite to theirs, I shall speak forth 
my sentiments freely and without reserve. This is no time for 
ceremony. The question before this house is one of awful moment 
to the country. For my own part, I consider it as nothing less than 
a question of freedom or slavery; and in proportion to the magni- 
tude of the subject ought to be the freedom of the debate. It is 
only in this way that we can hope to arrive at truth, and fulfill the 
great responsibility which we hold to God and to our country. 
Should I keep back my opinions at such a time, through fear of 
giving offense, I would consider myself as guilty of treason toward 
my country, and of an act of disloyalty toward the Majesty of 
Heaven, which I revere above all earthly kings. 

Mr. President, It is natural to man to indulge in the illusions of 
hope. We are apt to shut our eyes against a painful truth, and 
listen to the song of that siren till she transforms us into beasts. 
Is this the part of wise men, engaged in a great and arduous 
struggle for liberty? Are we disposed to be of the number of 
those who, having eyes, see not, and having ears, hear not, the 
things which so nearly concern their temporal salvation? For my 
part, whatever anguish of spirit it may cost, I am willing to know the 
whole truth; to know the worst and to provide for it. 

I have but one lamp by which my feet are guided; and that is 
the lamp of experience. I know of no way of judging of the future 
but by the past. And judging by the past, I wish to know what 
there has been in the conduct of the British ministry for the last 
ten years, to justify those hopes with which gentlemen have been 
pleased to solace themselves and the house. Is it that insidious 
smile with which our petition has been lately received? Trust it 
not, sir; it will prove a snare to your feet. Suffer not yourselves 
to be betrayed with a kiss. Ask yourselves how this gracious re- 

441 


442 


Types of Children s Literature 

ception of our petition comports with those warlike preparations 
which cover our waters and darken our land. Are fleets and 
armies necessary to a work of love and reconciliation? Have we 
shown ourselves so unwilling to be reconciled that force must be 
called in to win back our love? Let us not deceive ourselves, sir. 
These are the implements of war and subjugation; the last argu- 
ments to which kings resort. I ask gentlemen, sir, what means 
this martial array, if its purpose be not to force us to submission? 
Can gentlemen assign any other possible motive for it? Has Great 
Britain any enemy in this quarter of the world, to call for all this 
accumulation of navies and armies? No, sir, she has none. They 
are meant for us; they can be meant for no other. They are sent 
over to bind and rivet upon us those chains which the British 
Ministry have been so long forging. And what have we to oppose 
to them? Shall we try argument? Sir, we have been trying that 
for the last ten years. Have we anything new to offer upon the 
subject? Nothing. We have held the subject up in every light of 
which it is capable; but it has been all in vain. Shall we resort 
to entreaty and humble supplication? What terms shall we find, 
which have not been already exhausted? Let us not, I beseech you, 
sir, deceive ourselves longer. Sir, we have done everything that 
could be done, to avert the storm which is now coming on. We 
have petitioned; we have remonstrated; we have supplicated; we 
have prostrated ourselves before the throne, and have implored its 
interposition to arrest the tyrannical hands of the Ministry and 
Parliament. Our petitions have been slighted; our remonstrances 
have produced additional violence and insult; our supplications 
have been disregarded; and we have been spurned with contempt 
from the foot of the throne. In vain, after these things, may we 
indulge the fond hope of peace and reconciliation. There is no 
longer any room for hope. If we wish to be free — if we mean to 
preserve inviolate those inestimable privileges for which we have 
been so long contending — if we mean not basely to abandon the 
noble struggle in which we have been so long engaged, and which 
we have pledged ourselves never to abandon until the glorious 
object of our contest shall be obtained — we must fight! I repeat 
it, sir, we must fight! An appeal to arms and to the God of Hosts 
is all that is left us! 

They tell us, sir, that we are weak; unable to cope with so 
formidable an adversary. But when shall we be stronger? Will 
it be the next week, or the next year? Will it be when we are 


Orations 


443 


totally disarmed, and when a British guard shall be stationed in 
every house? Shall we gather strength by irresolution and in- 
action? Shall we acquire the means of effectual resistance by 
lying supinely on our backs, and hugging the delusive phantom of 
hope, until our enemies shall have bound us hand and foot? Sir, 
we are not weak if we make a proper use of those means which the 
God of nature hath placed in our power. Three millions of people, 
armed in the holy cause of liberty, and in such a country as that 
which we possess, are invincible by any force which our enemy can 
send against us. Besides, we shall not fight our battles alone. 
There is a just God who presides over the destinies of nations, and 
who will raise up friends to fight our battles for us. The battle, sir, 
is not to the strong alone; it is to the vigilant, the active, the brave. 
Besides, sir, we have no election. If we were base enough to desire 
it, it is now too late to retire from the contest. There is no retreat 
but in submission and slavery! Our chains are forged! Their 
clanking may be heard on the plains of Boston! The war is in- 
evitable — and let it come! I repeat it, sir, let it come! 

It is vain, sir, to extenuate the matter. Gentlemen may cry 
peace, peace — but there is no peace. The war is actually begun ! 
The next gale that sweeps from the north will bring to our ears 
the clash of resounding arms! Our brethren are already in the 
field! Why stand we here idle? What is it that gentlemen wish? 
What would they have? Is life so dear, or peace so sweet, as to 
be purchased at the price of chains and slavery? Forbid it, Al- 
mighty God! I know not what course others may take; but, as for 
me, GIVE ME LIBERTY OR GIVE ME DEATH ! 

SUPPOSED SPEECH OF JOHN ADAMS 
Daniel Webster 

Sink or swim, live or die, survive or perish, I give my hand and 
my heart to this vote. It is true, indeed, that, in the beginning, we 
aimed not at independence. But 

There’s a divinity which shapes our ends. 

The injustice of England has driven us to arms; and, blinded to 
her own interest for our good, she has obstinately persisted, till in- 
dependence is now within our grasp. We have but to reach forth to 
it, and it is ours. Why, then, should we defer the Declaration? 


444 Types of Children s Literature 

Is any man so weak as now to hope for a reconciliation with Eng- 
land, which shall leave either safety to the country and its liberties, . 
or safety to his own life or his own honor? Are not you, Sir, 
who sit in that chair, is not he, our venerable colleague near you, 
are you not both already the proscribed and predestined objects of 
punishment and vengeance? Cut off from all hope of royal clem- 
ency, what are you, what can you be, while the power of England 
remains, but outlaws? If we postpone independence, do we meaA to 
carry on, or give up, the war? Do we mean to submit to the meas- 
ures of Parliament, Boston Port Bill and all? Do we mean to 
submit, and consent that we ourselves shall be ground to powder, 
and our country and its rights trodden down in the dust? I know 
we do not mean to submit. We never shall submit. Do we in- 
tend to violate that most solemn obligation ever entered into by 
men, that plighting, before God, of our sacred honor to Washington, 
when, putting him forth to incur the dangers of war, as well as 
the political hazards of the times, we promised to adhere to him, in 
every extremity, with our fortunes and our lives? I know there is 
not a man here, who would not rather see a general conflagration 
sweep over the land, or an earthquake sink it, than one jot or tittle 
of that plighted faith fall to the ground. For myself, having, 
twelve months ago, in this place, moved you that George Wash- 
ington be appointed commander of the forces raised, or to be raised, 
for the defense of American liberty, may my right, hand forget 
her cunning, and my tongue cleave to the roof my mouth, if I hesi- 
tate or waver in the support I give him. 

The war, then, must go on. We must fight it through. And 
if the war must go on, why put off longer the Declaration of In- 
dependence? That measure will strengthen us. It will give us 
character abroad. The nations will then treat with us, which they 
never can do while we acknowledge ourselves subjects, in arms 
against our sovereign. Nay, I maintain that England herself will 
sooner treat for peace with us on the footing of independence, than 
consent, by repealing her acts, to acknowledge that her whole con- 
duct toward us has been a course of injustice and oppression. Her 
pride will be less wounded by submitting to that course of things 
which now predestinates our independence, than by yielding the 
points in controversy to her rebellious subjects. The former she 
would regard as the result of fortune; the latter, she would feel as 
her own deep disgrace. Why then, why then, Sir, do we not as 
soon as possible change this from a civil to a national war? And 


Orations 445 

since we must fight it through, why not put ourselves in a state to 
enjoy all the benefits of victory, if we gain the victory? 

If we fail, it can be ro worse for us. But we shall not fail. 
The cause will raise up armies; the cause will create navies. The 
people, the people, if we are true to them, will carry us, and will 
carry themselves, gloriously, through this struggle. I care not how 
fickle other people have been found. I know the people of these 
CoJonies, and I know that resistance to British aggression is deep 
and settled in their hearts, and cannot be eradicated. Every Colony, 
indeed, has expressed its willingness to follow, if we but take the 
lead. Sir, the Declaration will inspire the people with increased 
courage. Instead of a long and bloody war for the restoration of 
privileges, for redress of grievances, for chartered immunities, held 
under a British king, set before them the glorious object of en- 
tire independence, and it will breathe into them anew the spirit of 
life. Read this Declaration at the head of the army; every sword 
will be drawn, and the solemn vow uttered, to maintain it, or per- 
ish on the bed of honor. Publish it from the pulpit; religion will 
approve it, and the love of religious liberty will cling around it, 
resolved to stand with it, or fall with it. Send it to the public 
halls; proclaim it there; let them hear it who heard the first roar 
of the enemy’s cannon; let them see it who saw their brothers and 
their sons fall on the field of Bunker Hill and in the streets of 
Lexington and Concord, and the ver^ walls will cry out in its sup- 
port. 

Sir, I know the uncertainty of human affairs, but I see, I see 
clearly through this day’s business. You and I, indeed, may rue it. 
We may not live to see the time when this Declaration shall be made 
good. We may die; die colonists; die slaves; die, it may be, 
ignominiously and on the scaffold. Be it so. Be it so. If it be 
the pleasure of Heaven that my country shall require the poor offer- 
ing of my life, the victim shall be ready at the appointed hour of 
sacrifice, come when that hour may. But while I do live, let me 
have a country, or at least the hope of a country, and that a free 
country. 

But whatever may be our fate, be assured, be assured that this 
Declaration will stand. It may cost treasure, and it may cost 
blood; but it will stand, and it will richly compensate for both. 
Through the thick gloom of the present I see the brightness of the 
future, as the sun in heaven. We shall make this a glorious, an 
immortal day. When we are in our graves, our children will honor 


446 


Types of Childrens Literature 

it. They will celebrate it with thanksgiving, with festivity, with 
bonfires, and illuminations. On its annual return they will shed 
tears, copious, gushing tears, not of subjection and slavery, not of 
agony and distress, but of exultation, of gratitude, and of joy. 
Sir, before God, I believe the hour is come. My judgment approves 
this measure, and my whole heart is in it. All that I have, and 
all that I am, and all that I hope, in this life, I am now ready 
here to stake upon it; and I leave off as I began, that, live or die, 
survive or perish, I am for the Declaration. It is my living senti- 
ment, and, by the blessing of God, it shall be my dying sentiment; 
•independence now, and independence forever. 

ADDRESS DELIVERED AT THE DEDICATION OF THE 
CEMETERY AT GETTYSBURG 

Vbraham Lincoln 

Fourscore and seven years ago our fathers brought forth on 
this continent, a new nation, conceived in Liberty, and dedicated 
to the proposition that all men are created equal.- 

Now we are engaged in a great civil war, testing whether that 
nation, or any nation so conceived and so dedicated, can long en- 
dure. We are met on a great battlefield of that war. We have 
come to dedicate a portion of that field, as a final resting-place 
for those who here gave their lives that that nation might live. It is 
altogether fitting and proper that we should do this. 

But, in a larger sense, we can not dedicate — we can not con- 
secrate — we can not hallow — this ground. The brave men, liv- 
ing and dead, who struggled here have consecrated it, far above 
our poor power to add or detract. The world will little note, nor 
long remember what we say here, but it can never forget what 
they did here. It is for us the living, rather, to be dedicated here to 
the unfinished work which they who fought here have thus far so 
nobly advanced. It is rather for us to be here dedicated to the 
great task remaining before us, — that from these honored dead we 
take increased devotion to that cause for which they gave the last 
full measure of devotion — that we here highly resolve that these 
dead shall not have died in vain — that this nation, under God, 
shall have a new birth of freedom — and that government of the 
people, by the people, for the people, shall not perish from the 
earth. 


APPENDIX 


In this Appendix are given lists of masterpieces of children’s lit- 
erature which, for reasons stated in the Preface, could not be in- 
cluded in this collection. The editor has attempted to limit the lists 
of books to those which, in his judgment, are undoubted master- 
pieces, yet at the same time to include the books in the different 
types with which students in normal school and college classes in 
children’s literature need to be familiar. These books should be in 
the reference library at the disposal of the students, and reports and 
conferences on them should form a part of the course in children’s 
literature. 

A brief bibliography of books dealing with literature for children 
is appended. The teacher of the class in children’s literature should 
know some of these books, and perhaps use one as a text to guide 
his work. 

Collections of Children’s Literature 

Eliot, C. W. The Junior Classics. 8 vols. P. F. Collier & Sons, New York. 
Scudder, H. E. The Childrens Book. 1 vol. Houghton Mifflin Company, Bos- 
ton. 

Tappan, E. M. The Children's Hour. 10 vols. Houghton Mifflin Company, 
Boston. 

Among school readers, the Heart of Oak series, edited by Charles 
Eliot Norton (D. C. Heath & Co., New York), is the most profuse in 
literary masterpieces. 

Collections of Mother Goose Verses 

Halliwell, J. 0. The Nursery Rhymes of England. Frederick Warne & Co., 
New York. 

Lang, A. The Nursery Rhyme Book. Frederick Warne & Co., New York. 
Saintsbury, G. E. B. National Rhymes of the Nursery. Frederick A. Stokes 
Company, New York. 

Welsh, C. Mother Goose: A Book of Nursery Rhymes. D. C. Heath & Co., 
New York. 

Wheeler, W. A. Mother Goose’s Melodies. Houghton Mifflin Company, Bos- 
ton. 

Children’s Poets 

In addition to the children’s poets represented on pages 13-36, 
the following books of children’s poems should be in the school 
library: 

Brown, A. F. A Pocketful of Posies. Houghton Mifflin Company, Boston. 
Cary, A. and P. Poems for Children. Houghton Mifflin Company, Boston. 
(In Cary’s Poetical Works.) 


447 


448 Appendix 

Dodge, M. Rhymes and Jingles. Charles Scribner’s Sons, New York. 

Dowd. The Owl and the Bobolink. Houghton Mifflin Company, Boston. 

Earls, M. Ballads of Childhood. Benziger Brothers, New York. 

Field, E. Songs of Childhood. Charles Scribner’s Sons, New York. 

Lamb, C. Poetry for Children. E. P. Dutton & Co., New York. (Volume 8 of 
Works of Charles Lamb.) 

Peabody, J. P. The Book of the Little Past. Houghton Mifflin Company, Bos- 
ton. 

Richards, L. E. In My Nursery. Little, Brown & Co., Boston. 

Riley, J. W. Rhymes of Childhood. Bobbs-Merrill Company, Indianapolis. 
Sherman, F. D. Little-Folk Lyrics. Houghton Mifflin Company, Boston. 
Tagore, R. The Crescent Moon. Macmillan Company, New York. 

Wells, C. The Jingle Book. Macmillan Company, New York. 


Anthologies of Children’s Poetry 

Chisholm, L. The Golden Staircase. G. P. Putnam’s Sons, New York. 
Hazard, B. Three Years with the Poets. Houghton Mifflin Company, Boston. 
Henley, W. E. Lyra Heroica. Charles Scribner’s Sons, New York. 

Lucas, E. V. A Book of Verses for Children. Henry Holt & Co., New York. 
Palgrave, F. Children’s Treasury of English Song. Macmillan Company, 
New York. 

Repplier, A. A Book of Famous Verse. Houghton Mifflin Company, Boston. 
Stevenson, B. The Home Book of Verse for Young Folks. Henry Holt & Co., 
New York. 

Thacher, L. W. The Listening Child. Macmillan Company, New York. 
Wiggin, K. D., and Smith, N. A. Golden Numbers. McClure Company, New 
York. 

Anonymous. Our Children’s Songs. Harper and Brothers, New York. 


Fairy Stories 

In addition to the collections of fairy stories mentioned in the 
notes, the following collections contain first-rate material: 


Folk Tales 

Jacobs, J. More English Fairy Tales and Celtic Fairy Tales. G. P. Putnam’s 
Sons, New York. 

Lang, A. The Blue Fairy Book and The Green Fairy Book. Longmans, Green 
& Co., New York. 

Rhys, E. The English Fairy Book. Frederick A. Stokes Company, New York. 
Scudder, H. E. Book of Fables and Folk Stories. Houghton Mifflin Company, 
Boston. 

Wiggin, K. D., and Smith, N. A. The Fairy Ring. McClure Company, New 
York. 


Appendix 


449 


Negro Folk Tales 

Harris, J. C. Nights with Uncle Remus and Uncle Remus and His Friends. 
Houghton Mifflin Company, Boston. 


Modern Fairy Tales 

Barrie, J. M. Peter Pan. Silver, Burdett & Co., Boston. 

Carroll, L. Alice's Adventures in Wonderland and Through the Looking- 
Glass. Macmillan Company, New York. 

Collodi, C. Adventures of Pinocchio. Ginn & Co., Boston. 

Ingelow, J. Mopsa the Fairy. J. B. Lippincott Company, Philadelphia. 

Three Fairy Tales. D. C. Heath & Co., New York. 

Kingsley, C. Water Babies. E. P. Dutton & Co., New York. 

Lang, A. Prince Prigio. Thomas Y. Crowell Company, New York. 
Maeterlinck, M. The Blue Bird for Children. Silver, Burdett & Co., Boston. 
Macdonald, G. The Princess and the Goblin. J. B. Lippincott Company, 
Philadelphia. 

Rostand, E. The Story of Chanticleer. Frederick A. Stokes Company, New 
York. 

Stockton, F. R. Fanciful Tales and The Floating Prince. Charles Scribner’s 
Sons, New York. 

Thackeray, W. M. The Rose and the Ring. D. C. Heath & Co., New York. 


Homeric Stories 

No selection from the classic stories of Homer have been included 
in the present collection, having been ruled out by the principle 
that nothing but complete units must be presented. But every child 
must be exposed to the charm of the wonderful story-teller of 
Greece. If the child prefers verse — and Homer’s stories are at 
their best in good verse — Bryant’s translation should be used 
(Students’ Edition, 2 vols. Houghton Mifflin Company, Boston). 
Perhaps the best prose translation is that of Palmer (Houghton 
Mifflin Company). 

Myths 

In addition to the Kingsley and Hawthorne stories of the Greek 
myths and legends, the child’s library should contain Mrs. Peabody’s 
Old Greek Folk Stories (Houghton Mifflin Company, Boston). 

Hero Stories 

Preeminent among the stories in which the chief element of in- 
terest is that which arises from the deeds of heroic characters, are 


450 Appendix 

the Robin Hood and the King Arthur stories. The Robin Hood 
tales contain material unusually interesting and valuable for chil- 
dren; but, though they have been told and retold times without num- 
ber, there is but one version that may properly be called a “ master- 
piece.” This is the Howard Pyle version, Merry Adventures of 
Robin Hood (Charles Scribner’s Sons, New York). A less ex- 
pensive edition is called Some Merry Adventures of Robin Hood. 

The King Arthur cycle is at its best in the Malory version (Le 
Morte d’ Arthur, by Sir Thomas Malory. Everyman s series. E. P. 
Dutton & Co., New York). This, however, is somewhat too diffuse 
and too difficult for any child but a bookish one. Sidney Lanier’s 
version of the stories ( The Boy’s King Arthur , Charles Scribner’s 
Sons, New York) is a masterpiece of narration for youthful readers, 
and it is faithful to the atmosphere and spirit of the Malory stories. 

The hero stories in Plutarch are among the choicest of stories in 
this type. Edwin Ginn’s edition (Ginn & Co., Boston) is an admira- 
ble one. It is based on the Clough translation, which was based, in 
turn, on the so-called Dryden version. 

Animal and Nature Stories and Sketches 

Burroughs, J. Wake Robin. Houghton Mifflin Company, Boston. 

Kipling, R. Jungle Book and Just-So Stories. Century Company, New York. 
Long, W. J. A Little Brother to the Bear. Ginn & Co., Boston. 

Miller, J. True Bear Stories. Rand-McNally & Co., Chicago. 

Muir, J. Stickeen. Houghton Mifflin Company, Boston. A most charming 
and thrilling story of a dog. 

Roberts, C. G. D. Kindred of the Wild. Grosset & Dunlap, New York. 
Segur, S. Story of a Donkey. D. C. Heath & Co., New York. 

Seton Thompson, E. Wild Animals 1 Have Known. Charles Scribner’s Sons, 
New York. 


Miscellaneous Stories 

(Chiefly Fiction) 

Alcott, L. M. Little Men and Little Women. Little, Brown & Co., Boston. 
Aldrich, T. B. Story of a Bad Boy. Houghton Mifflin Company, Boston. 
Blackmore, R. D. Lorna Doone. Thomas Y. Crowell Company, New York. 
Bunyan, J. Pilgrim's Progress. Ginn & Co., Boston. 

Clemens, S. L. Tom Sawyer , Huckleberry Finn, and The Prince and the 
Pauper. Harper and Brothers, New York. 

Cooper, J. F. Deer slayer and Last of the Mohicans. G. P. Putnam’s Sons, 
New York. 

Defoe, D. Robinson Crusoe. Houghton Mifflin Company, Boston. 
Franklin. B. Autobiography. D. C. Heath & Co., New York. 

Hale, E. E. The Man Without a Country. Ginn & Co., Boston. 


Appendix 451 

Hale, L. Peterkin Papers. Houghton Mifflin Company, Boston. 

Hughes, T. Tom Brown’s School Days. Rand-McNally & Co., Chicago. 

Scott, W. Quentin Durward and Ivanhoe. Dana Estes & Co., Boston. 

Stevenson, R. L. Treasure Island. Charles Scribner’s Sons, New York. 

Swift, J. Gulliver s Travels. D. C. Heath & Co., New York. 

Books on Children’s Literature 

Barnes, W. English in the Country School. Row, Peterson & Co., Chicago. 

Carpenter, Baker, and Scott. The Teaching of English. Longmans, Green 
& Co., New York. 

Chubb, P. Teaching of English (elementary school edition). Macmillan Com- 
pany, New York. 

Colby, J. R. Literature and Life in the School. Houghton Mifflin Company, 
Boston. 

Cox, J. H. Literature in the Common Schools. Little, Brown & Co., Boston. 

Field, W. T. Fingerposts to Children’s Reading. A. C. McClurg & Co., 
Chicago. 

Hunt. What Shall We Read to the Children? Houghton Mifflin Company, 
Boston. 

Lee, G. S. The Child and the Book. G. P. Putnam’s Sons, New York. 

Lowe. Literature for Children. Macmillan Company, New York. 

MacClintock, P. L. Literature in the Elementary School. University of Chi- 
cago Press, Chicago. 

Olcott, F. J. The Children’s Reading. Houghton Mifflin Company, Boston. 









































































































































. 







































NOTES 

Page 1. Attention is directed to the classification of the Nursery Jingles 
as indicated in the Contents. Several classifications of the Jingles, from 
one standpoint or another, have been made, that by J. O. Halliwell being the 
most elaborate, and that by the late Charles Welsh being, perhaps, the most 
logical. The present classification is to indicate more clearly the content, 
the source, the point, the “ intrinsic motive ” of the Jingles. It is hoped that 
this new classification will at least make conspicuous the scope and variety, 
and the widely varying sources and themes, of the verses that children have 
been selecting and scholars have been collecting under the generic name of 
Nursery Jingles or Mother Goose Verses. 

There are, of course, different versions of the Jingles, as there are of any 
truly popular form of literature. Of not many Jingles can it be said that 
any version is the oldest, the authoritative, the real version. The editor, there- 
fore, despairing of finding the most accurate version, has endeavored to find the 
best. In many instances the best seemed the one he had heard in childhood 
rather than the one printed in any of the collections. The collection found most 
useful is Lang’s The Nursery Rhyme Book (Frederick Warne & Co., London, 
1897). The editor has tried to select those specimens that would give teacher 
and class as many characteristic Mother Goose elements, touches, rhythms, 
and styles as possible. Many of the JingLes in this collection have not been 
printed before — at least, not to the editor’s knowledge. He believes, however, 
that they are all genuine Folk Jingles, and he hopes that their quaintness and 
novelty will justify their appearance here. 

Page 13. The poems from Blake are from Poetical Works (George Bell & 
Sons, London, 1909). The three poems are from the series called Songs of In- 
nocence. 

Page 15. Christina Rossetti’s poems are from Sing-Song (Macmillan & Co., 
London, 1907). The poems are not given titles in this, the authoritative 
edition. 

Page 17. Stevenson’s poems are from Complete Poems (Charles Scribner’s 
Sons, New York, 1912). The poems reprinted here are all from the series 
called A Child’s Garden of Verses. There are many good editions of the 
Child’s Garden , the Scribner edition being one of the most beautiful. 

Page 20. The Lucy Larcom pieces are from Childhood Songs (Houghton 
Mifflin Company, Boston, 1874), and are here used by permission of Houghton 
Mifflin Company. 

Page 22. The four poems of the Taylors’ are from E. V. Lucas’s edition of 
The Original Poems and Others (Wells, Gardner, Darton & Co., London, 1903). 
The readings given here follow the last revision by Ann Taylor, some years after 
the death of Jane. In the case of “ The Star ” the more familiar version seemed, 
to the present editor, the better, but he felt that he should conform to the 
reading that seems to have the strongest authority. N^ attempt is made to dis- 
criminate between the poems of the two sisters; all the poems are here ascribed 
to them jointly. 

Page 26. The first two poems of Watts’ are from Divine Songs for Children; 
the third poem, from Moral Songs, or, to give it its full title, A Slight Specimen 
of Moral Songs, such as I wish some happy and condescending genius would un- 
dertake for the use of children, and perform much better. The two collections 

453 


454 


Notes 


of poems for children are to be found in Watts’s Horfe Lyricce (Little, Brown 
& Co., Boston, 1864) . The advertisement to this edition states that “ the volume 
is reprinted, with many corrections,” from the quarto edition of Watts’s entire 
works, published in 1753. Stanzas 5-10 and stanzas 12 and 14 have been 
omitted from the text of “A Cradle Hymn.” They are given here, that the 
student may have before him an illustration of how necessary it is occasionally 
to expurgate material set before children. 

5. Blessed babe! what glorious features, 

Spotless fair, divinely bright! 

Must he dwell with brutal creatures? 

How could angels bear the sight! 

6. Was there nothing but a manger 

Cursed sinners could afford, 

To receive the heavenly Stranger? 

Did they thus affront their Lord? 

7. Soft, my child; I did not chide thee, 

Though my song might sound too hard; 

’Tis thy mother sits beside thee, 

And her arms shall be thy guard. 

8. Yet to read the shameful story, 

How the Jews abus’d their King, 

How they serv’d the Lord of Glory, 

Makes me angry while I sing. 

9. See the kinder shepherds round him, 

Telling wonders from the sky; 

There they sought him, there they found him, 

With his virgin mother by. 

10. See the lovely babe a-dressing; 

Lovely infant, how he smil’d! 

When he wept, the mother’s blessing 
Sooth’d and hush’d the holy child. 

12. ’Twas to save thee, child, from dying, 

Save my dear from burning flame, 

Bitter groans and endless crying, 

That thy blest Redeemer came. 

14. I could give thee thousand kisses, 

Hoping what I most desire ; 

Not a mother’s fondest wishes 
Can to greater joys aspire. 

Page 28. Lewis Carroll’s poems reprinted here are from The Hunting of the 
Snark, and Other Poems (Harper & Brothers', New York, 1903). “Father Wil- 
liam” is from Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland; the others are from Through 


Notes 4 55 

the Looking-Glass. All three poems are much better fun when read in their 
original setting. 

Page 33. Edward Lear’s poems are from Nonsense Books (Little, Brown 
& Co., Boston, 1888). This includes all four of the Nonsense books by Lear: 
Book of Nonsense, 1846; Nonsense Songs , Stories, etc., 1871; More Nonsense 
Pictures, etc., 1872; and Laughable Lyrics: A Fresh Book of Nonsense, etc., 
1877. 

Page 37. The ballad of “ Bonny Barbara Allan ” is from Percy’s Reliques 
of Ancient English Poetry (Frederick Warne & Co., New York, 1880). The 
spelling is modernized. Stanzas 5-8 have been inserted. They were discovered 
in Buchanan County, Virginia, by Professor C. Alphonso Smith, of the Uni- 
versity of Virginia, and printed in his monograph, Ballads Surviving in the 
United States (G. Schirmer, New York, 1916). This and dozens of other 
“ popular ” ballads are still sung in the mountains of the Southern states ; un- 
doubtedly they have been transmitted orally for generations. 

Page 38. “ Sir Patrick Spence ” is from Percy’s Reliques, the edition above 
mentioned. In the editor’s opinion, this is the most effective of the several 
versions of this beautiful ballad. 

Page 40. This version of “ Robin Hood and Allin a Dale ” is from Sar- 
gent and Kittredge’s English and Scottish Popular Ballads (Houghton Mifflin 
Company, Boston, 1904). 

Page 43. “ Kinmont Willie” is from The Poetical Works of Sir Walter Scott, 
together with The Minstrelsy of the Scottish Border (J. B. Lippincott Com- 
pany, Philadelphia, 1880). Sir Walter, in his introduction to the ballad, states 
that because the piece had been “ much mangled by reciters,” “ some con- 
jectural emendations have been absolutely necessary to render it intelligible.” 
As no other version of the ballad has ever been discovered, no one knows just 
how many “ conjectural emendations ” Sir Walter made. It is safe to say, how- 
ever, that the poet’s taste and antiquarian interests would prevent his taking urn 
warrantable liberties with the original. In its present form it is one of the finest 
of the ballads, whatever change it may have suffered in passing through Scott’s 
hands. 

Page 49. This poem of Longfellow’s and “ A Psalm of Life,” page 83, are 
from Complete Poetical Works (Houghton Mifflin Company, Boston, 1893). 
They are used by permission. 

Page 52. “ La Belle Dame sans Merci ” and the Keats poem on page 75 are 
from Complete Poetical Works and Letters (Houghton Mifflin Company, Boston, 
1899). Lord Houghton’s version, as given in Life, Letters, and Literary Re- 
mains, has some important variant readings. 

Page 53. The Campbell poem is taken from the Complete Poetical Works 
(Phillips, Samson & Co., Boston, 1857). 

Page 55. “ Lochinvar ” comes from the Poetical W orks (Thomas Y. Crowell 
Company, New York, 1894) . 

Page 56. This spirited poem of Browning’s is from the Complete Poetic and 
Dramatic Works (Houghton Mifflin Company, Boston, 1895). 

Page 58. The three poems by Tennyson in this collection are from Poetic 
and Dramatic Works (Houghton Mifflin Company, Boston, 1898). 

Page 63. This version of “America” is from the facsimile reproduction of 
the hymn in the author’s handwriting found in A History of Newton, Massa- 
chusetts, by S. F. Smith, D.D. (published, 1880, by The American Logotype 


456 


Notes 


Company, Boston). The original copy of “America,” according to all the 
evidence, is the one in Dr. Smith’s handwriting contained on a slip of waste 
paper which is now kept in the treasure room of the Harvard Library. In 
this original version the two notable points of difference from that given here 
are the reading “ breathes ” for “ breathe ” in the third stanza, and “ Our God ” 
for “ Great God ” in the fourth stanza. 

Page 64. This well-known passage is the first stanza of Canto VI of Scott’s 
The Lay of the Last Minstrel ( Poetical Works above described). 

Page 64. Miller’s “ Columbus ” is from the Bear Edition of Miller’s poems 
(Harr Wagner Publishing Company, San Francisco, 1909). 

Page 65. Mrs. Hemans’ poem is from Complete Works (D. Appleton & Co., 
New York, 1847). 

Page 67. The “ Concord Hymn ” and “ The Rhodora,” page 74, are from the 
Poems (Houghton Mifflin Company, Boston, 1899). 

Page *67. This poem of Holmes’ and “The Chambered Nautilus,” page 77, 
are from the Poetical Works (Houghton Mifflin Company, Boston, 1895). The 
latter poem appeared originally in The Autocrat of the Breakfast Table. 

Page 68. “O Captain! My Captain! ” is from Leaves of Grass (David Mc- 
Kay, Philadelphia, 1900). 

Page 70. “ To Lucasta ” is from Epodes, Odes, Sonnets, Songs, etc., etc., to 
which is added Aramantha, a Pastoral, by Richard Lovelace, Esq. A New 
Edition (Chiswick: from the Press of C. Whittingham, 1817). 

Page 70. Byron’s poem is from Hebrew Melodies (London, printed for John 
Murray, 1815). 

Page 71.’ “ A Red, Red Rose ” is from Complete Poetical W orks ( Houghton 
Mifflin Company, Boston, 1897). 

Page 72. “The Greenwood Tree” is from As You Like It (New Variorum 
Edition, 1890). 

Page 72. This well-known sea song by Cunningham is from The Songs of 
Scotland, Ancient and Modern, Vol. IV (printed for John Taylor, London, 
1825). 

Page 73. “ I Wandered Lonely as a Cloud,” or “ The Daffodils,” as it is 
often called, is from Complete Poetical Works (Thomas Y. Crowell Company, 
New York, n. d.). The text is that of the edition of 1857. 

Page 74. “To the Fringed Gentian” is from Poetical Works (D. Appleton 
& Co., New York, 1909). “To a Waterfowl,” page 76, is from the same. 

Page 79. “ The Noble Nature ” is from the volume of Ben Jonson's poems in 
The Canterbury Poets, edited by William Sharp (published by the Walter Scott 
Publishing Company, London and Newcastle, n. d.). 

Page 79. This poem of Wotton’s is from Reliquce Wottonice, etc., London, 
(printed by Thomas Maxey for R. Marriot, G. Bedel, and T. Garthwait, 1651). 
The meaning of the third stanza is obscure. In this edition it runs as follows: 

Who envies none that Chance doth raise, 

Nor Vice hath ever understood; 

How deepest wounds are given by praise, 

Nor rules of State, but rules of good. 

Page 80. This inspiring poem by Clough is found in Poetical Works (George 
Routledge & Sons, London, n. d.). 


Notes 457 

Page 80. “ For A’ That an’ A’ That ” is from The Edinburgh Book of Scot- 
tish Verse (Meiklejohn and Holden, London, 1910). 

Page 82. The poem by Henley is from Echoes (published by David Nutt, 
London, 1908). This poem is the fourth of the forty-seven poems in Echoes. 
The title “ Invictus ” is not in the original. 

Page 82. “ Opportunity ” is from Poems by Edward Rowland Sill (Houghton 
Mifflin Company, Boston, 1888). 

Pages 85-86. These six fables are from The Fables of TEsop , translated 
into English by Samuel Croxall, with new applications, morals, etc., by the 
Rev. George Fyler Townsend (Frederick Warne & Co., London, 1869). This 
is the second edition. There are, of course, scores of versions of the TEsopian 
fables. The one selected is approved by Greek scholars for the fidelity of the 
translation, while its literary value is unusually high. The tagged-on morals 
and applications have been pruned away from the text. 

Pages 87*-88. The two fables of Bidpai are to be found in The Tortoise and 
the .Geese, and Other Fables of Bidpai, retold by Maude Barrows Dutton 
(Houghton Mifflin Company, Boston, 1908). They are reprinted here by per- 
mission of the publishers. 

Page 89. These two metrical fables are from Fables of La Fontaine, 
translated by Elizur Wright, Jr. (Worthington Company, New York, 1889). 
The French writer’s fables, though usually not original in content, are clever 
and keen and shrewd, and this translation represents faithfully their thought 
and spirit. 

Page 91. Both “ The Old Woman and Her Pig ” and “ The Three Little 
Pigs” are from English Fairy Tales, third edition (G. P. Putnam’s Sons, New 
York, 1910). The stories are from Halliwell’s Nursery Rhymes and Tales, but 
are retold by Jacobs, who, as usual, improves the original without sinning 
against the mood and spirit of the “ popular ” story. 

Page 95. “ Hans in Luck ” and “ The Frog-Prince,” page 140, are from the 
translation of Edgar Taylor, London, 1823. This, so far as the editor could de- 
termine, was the first translation into English, and it remains one of the best. 

Page 98. “ The Valiant Little Tailor ” and “ The Elves,” page 139, are 
from Grimm’s Household Tales, translated by Margaret Hunt (George Bell & 
Sons, London, 1913). The two volumes of Miss Hunt’s translation are, together 
with her notes and Andrew Lang’s introduction, an important contribution to 
the folklore of the “ popular ” Fairy Story and Nursery Tale. 

Page 105. “ Cinderella ” and “ Blue Beard,” page 129, are from The Tales of 
Mother Goose, translated from the French by Charles Welsh (D. C. Heath & 
Co., New York, 1901). They are reprinted in this collection by permission of 
the publishers. The Tales of Mother Goose were published in 1697. There 
have been dozens of translations, but Welsh’s version is perhaps the most satis- 
factory. 

Page 110. This version of “ Whittington ” is from Amusing Prose Chap- 
Books, chiefly of Last Century, edited by Robert Hays Cunningham (Hamilton, 
Adams & Co., London, 1889). The version is strikingly similar lo the one given 
by Jacobs in English Fairy Talcs, which, Jacobs says, was “cobbled up out of 
three chapbook versions.” 

Page 117. “The Ugly Duckling” is from Fairy Tales and Stories, translated 
by H. W. Dulcken (Rand-McNally & Co., Chicago, n. d.). The Dulcken trans- 
lation published by A. L. Burt Company, New York, n. d., contains the same 
stories as the Rand-McNally translation, and eleven more, 


458 


Notes 


Page 125. “ The Flax ” is from the translation of Caroline Peachey, Danish 
Fairy Legends and Tales (George Bell & Sons, London, 1881). This is the 
“ third edition, enlarged.” It contains fifty-seven stories. 

Neither of the Andersen stories used for this collection is a folk story — 
though, for tradition’s sake, they are here placed with genuine folk stories. 
Of the fifty-seven stories in the Peachey translation, all but ten are entirely 
original with Andersen, and all of these ten he worked over to suit his purpose. 
Andersen, then, unlike Grimm, Jacobs, Lang, and others, is not a collector and 
teller of fairy stories, but a maker of fairy stories — if, indeed, they should be 
called fairy stories at all. In spirit and purpose and method Andersen be- 
longs with the modern writers of fairy stories — with Macdonald, Stockton, 
Ingelow, and Barrie, rather than with the “ dealers in the genuine article.” 

Page 133. This version of “Jack and the Beanstalk” is from Jacobs’ Eng- 
lish Fairy Tales above cited. Jacobs states that this telling came from Aus- 
tralia. It is the best version known to the editor — - in fact, the only possible 
change to be desired is in the flippant ending, “ The ogre fell down and broke 
his crown.” This is too serious a matter for such lightness! 

Page 142. The only story of Asbjornsen reprinted in this collection is from 
Fairy Tales from the Far North (A. L. Burt Company, New York, n. d.). The 
translator is H. L. Braekstad. Asbjdrnsen’s stories are sterling folk tales, but 
somewhat too gross and crude for the delicate stomach of the modern child. 

Page 146. This Negro folk tale is from Told by Uncle Remus (Grosset & 
Dunlap, New York, 1905. Copyright 1903-1904-1905 by Joel Chandler Har- 
ris). Reproduced here by courtesy of Doubleday, Page & Co. 

Page 155. Mrs. Craik’s story is the first tale in The Adventures of a Brownie 
(Rand-McNally & Co., Chicago j 1911) ; it is printed here by permission of the 
publishers. The text, according to the editor, agrees with the standard text 
(Samson, Low, Marston, Low, and Searle, London, 1872). 

Page 161. The text of “ The King of the Golden River ” is that found in 
Ruskin’s Works (American Publishers Corporation, New York, n. d.). The 
versions commonly found in readers have been sadly mangled by editors — 
largely on the theory, it would seem, that children cannot understand the 
meaning of a word of more than two syllables. 

Page 183. “Aladdin” is from The Arabian Nights Entertainments, trans- 
lated by Jonathan Scott (printed for Longman, Hurst, Rees, Orme, & Brown, 
London, 1811). The translation is based on Galland’s French translation, the 
first translation into any European language; but Dr. Scott states that the 
stories are “ carefully revised and occasionally corrected from the Arabic.” 
Of the many editions of The Arabian Nights — several of them excellent — 
this has always seemed, to the editor, the best. 

The name in Scott’s edition is spelled “Alla ad Deen,” but the editor has 
thought it best to use the name most familiar to the English translations. The 
story has been altered slightly in that part which relates the circumstances 
following the marriage of the princess and the vizier’s son. Quotation marks 
have been inserted throughout. 

Page 267. “ The Gorgon’s Head ” is from The Wonder Book (Houghton 
Mifflin Company, Boston, 1881). 

Page 286. “ Theseus ” is from The Heroes ( Kingsley's Works, Macmillan 
& Co:, London, 1879). One obvious blunder in spelling has been corrected. 

Page 311. “Thor Goes a-Fishing” is from Mabie’s Norse Stories (Rand- 


Notes 


459 


McNally & Co., Chicago, 1902. Copyright, 1900, 1901, by Dodd, Mead & Co.). 
It is printed here through special arrangement with the holders of the copyright. 

Page 315. “Baldur” is Chapter VI of The Heroes of Asgard, revised and 
abridged by Charles H. Morss (Macmillan Company, New York, 1909),. The 
preface states that “this volume is really an abridgment of Keary’s The Heroes 
of Asgard, adapting it to classroom use for pupils of about the fourth and fifth 
grades.” The selection is presented here as a splendid specimen of “ made- 
over ” literature, as well as, in its own right, a masterpiece of story-telling for 
children. 

Page 327. The story of William Wallace is from The Tales of a Grandfather 
(Adam and Charles Black, Edinburgh, 1889). This edition is “reprinted 
from the latest edition published in the lifetime of Mr. Lockhart, and probably 
under his immediate supervision.” 

Page 339. “The Tempest” is from Tales from, Shakespeare, with intro- 
ductions and' additions by F. J. Furnivall (Raphael Tuck & Sons, London, 1901). 
The “Tales” are very uneven in merit, the Comedies being superior, in the 
editor’s opinion, to the Tragedies, and “ The Tempest ” being considerably the 
best of the Comedies. It is generally understood that it was Mary Lamb who 
told the Comedies and Charles who had charge of the Tragedies. 

Page 349. “ The Purple Jar ” is from “ Rosamond ” in a volume entitled 
Frank, Rosamond, Harry, and Lucy (Frederick Warne & Co., London, n. d.). 
This is an inexpensive volume containing all of Miss Edgeworth's good stories 
except those in The Parent’s Assistant. One may not care for tales of this 
sort; but they have their value, both as morality and literature, and “The Pur- 
ple Jar ” is one of the most effective specimens of its kind. 

Pages 354, 356. The two didactic stories by Aiken and Barbauld are from 
Evenings at Home; or, the Juvenile Budget opened: consisting of a variety of 
miscellaneous pieces for the instruction and amusement of young persons 
(Henry Washbourne, London, 1847). This edition is described as “newly ar- 
ranged.” “Eyes and No Eyes” has been admired and praised by thousands of 
readers of past generations, among whom Oliver Wendell Holmes and Charles 
Kingsley are preeminent. 

Page 363. “ Rab and His Friends ” is the first sketch in Horce Subsecivce, 
First Series (Frederick A. Stokes Company, New York, 1893). An accurate 
and inexpensive edition is that in the Canterbury Classics (Rand-McNally & 
Co., Chicago). It is one of the most pathetic stories in*all literature, conform- 
ing precisely to Ruskin’s theory that a child’s story should be “ sad and sweet.” 

Page 375. Mrs. Miller’s .story of the blue jay is one of the most charming 
of the stories in True Bird Stories (Houghton Mifflin Company, Boston, 1903). 
It is reprinted in this collection with the permission of the publishers. 

Page 378. “A Cry in the Night” is the second story in Wood Folk at 
School .(Ginn & Co., Boston, 1903). It is printed here by special arrangement 
with the publishers. Mr. Long’s studies of wild animal life are among the few 
distinctive contributions to children’s literature within this generation. 

Page 389. The selections from the Bible are from the King James Version. 
The verse divisions in this version have been ignored in this reprint, as having 
little literary significance, and the paragraphs indicated by the paragraph 
marks in the original have been used as the natural units of thought — 
though the paragraphing does not always represent the thought divisions. 
Quotation marks have been inserted throughout. 


460 


Notes 


From the story of Joseph, Genesis 37-50, it has been thought best to omit the 
following: all of Chapter 38, Chapter 39: 7-19; Chapter 46: 8-27; Chapter 49: 
1-28. From the story of Samson, Judges 13:24 to end of Chapter 17, one clause 
in the, first verse of Chapter 16 has been omitted. From the Sermon on the 
Mount* Matthew 5 : 1 — 7 : 29, verses 27-32 from Chapter 5 have been omitted. 
The discourse of Paul on Charity, First Corinthians, Chapter 13, has been 
separated into paragraphs. 

Page 421. The letter of Lewis Carroll is from Life and Letters of Lewis 
Carroll, by S. Dodgson Collingwood (T. Fisher Unwin, London, 1898). Hood’s 
letter is from Thomas Hood: His Life and Times (London, 1907). Dickens’s 
letter is from Letters of Charles Dickens (London, 1880). 

Page 425. Irving’s essay on “Indian Character” is reprinted from The 
Sketch Book, Author’s Revised Edition (G. P. Putnam’s Sons, New York, 1888). 

Page 434. “Of Studies” is from The Essays of Francis Bacon (Longmans, 
Green & Co., London, 1907). The text is that of Aldis Wright, but the spelling 
and punctuation have been modernized. 

Page 435. Theodore Roosevelt’s spirited and characteristic- essay on “The 
American Boy” is to be found among the essays and addresses in The Strenuous 
Life (Century Company, New York, 1911), and is here used by permission of 
author and publisher. 

Page 441. Patrick Henry’s celebrated oration is from Sketches of the Life 
of Patrick Henry, by William Wirt, third edition, corrected by the author, 
Philadelphia, 1818, which is the first printed version of the speech. No one 
really knows how much of it is Henry’s, how much is Wirt’s. Wirt gives much 
of the oration in the third person, with many “ he said’s.” It is here given in 
the first person, following almost precisely the version given in Tyler’s Patrick 
Henry (Houghton Mifflin Company, Boston, 1898), which, of course, is based on 
Wirt’s version. All the evidence bears out the contention that Wirt’s account 
of the oration is authentic. 

Page 443. The “ Supposed Speech of John Adams ” is taken from the 
Works of Daniel Webster (Little, Brown & Co., Boston, 1853). The Speech is 
really a portion of Webster’s oration on Adams and Jefferson, delivered in 
Faneuil Hall, Boston, August 2, 1826, less than a month after the death of 
Adams and Jefferson. The “Supposed Speech” is Webster’s conception of how 
Adams might have answered a speaker who had argued against the passing of 
the Declaration of Independence. 

Page 446. This reading of the “ Gettysburg Address ” is taken, punctua- 
tion and all, from the autographed copy of the address written for the Balti- 
more Fair and signed November 19, 1863. The facsimile lithographed copy of 
this is to be found in Autograph Leaves of Our Country's Authors (Cushings 
& Bailey, Baltimore, 1864). A full and accurate account of the three versions 
of the address is found in the Century magazine for February, 1894. 


INDEX TO AUTHORS, TITLES, AND THE 
FIRST LINES OF POEMS 


Authors’ names are given in capitals and small capitals, titles of extracts in 
plain capitals and small letters, and first lines of poems in italics. 


A chieftain to the Highlands bound, 
53 

A child should always say what's true, 

18 

Adams, John, Supposed Speech of, 443 
Address at Dedication of Cemetery at 
Gettysburg. 446 
Aesop: Fables, 85 
Against Idleness and Mischief, 26 
Ah, what can ail thee, wretched wight, 
52 * 

Aiken and Barbauld: Difference and 
Agreement, 354 
Eyes and No Eyes, 356 
Aladdin, The Story of, 183 
America, 63 

American Boy, The, 435 
Andersen, H. C.: The Flax, 125 
The Ugly Duckling, 117 
An emerald is as green as grass , 16 
Animal Sketches and Stories, 363 388 
April fool, go to school, 5 
Arabian Nights, story from, 181 
Asbj0rnsen, P. C. : The Quern at 
the Bottom of the Sea, 142 
As 1 was going to St. Ives, 9 
As I went through the garden gap, 8 
At evening when the lamp is lit, 19 
At Flores in the Azores Sir Richard 
Grenville lay, 58 

Ay, tear her tattered ensign down! 67 

Bacon, Francis: Of Studies, 434 
Baldur, 315 
Ballads, 37-62 

Rehind him lay the gray Azores, 64 
Belle Dame sans Merci, La, 52 
Bible, Selections from the, 389-420 
Bidpai: Fables, 87 

Big at the bottom and little at the top, 

8 

Birds of a feather, 11 
Blake, William: Laughing Song, 14 
Piping Down the Valleys Wild, 13 
The Lamb, 13 
Blue Beard, 129 
Bonny Barbara Allan. 37 
Breathes there the man, with soul so 
dead, 64 

461 


Brother Rabbit and Brother Bull-Frog, 
146 

Brown, J.: Rab and His Friends, 363 
Brown Thrush, The, 21 
Brownie and the Cook, 155 
Browning, Robert: How They 
Brought the Good News, 56 
Bryant, W. C.: To a Waterfowl, 76 
To the Fringed Gentian, 74 
Bugle Song, The, 78 
Burns, Robert: A Red, Red Rose, 71 
For A’ That an’ A’ That, 80 
Busy Blue Jay, The, 375 
Byron, Lord : She Walks in Beauty. 70 
By the rude bridge that arched the 
flood, 67 

Campbell, Thomas: Lord Ullin’s 
Daughter, 53 

Carroll, Lewis: Jabberwocky, 28 
Letter to Miss Standen, 421 
The Walrus and the Carpenter, 30 
You are Old, Father William, 29 
Chambered Nautilus, The, 77 
Character of a Happy Life, The, 79 
Charity, Paul’s Discourse on, 419 
Children’s Poets, 13-36 
Christ’s Sermon on the Mount, 415 
Cinderella, or the Little Glass Slipper, 
105 

City Mouse and the Garden Mouse, 15 
Clough, Arthur Hugh: Say Not, 
the Struggle Nought Availeth, 80 
Columbus, 64 
Come, butter, come, 10 
Come listen to me, 40 
Concord Hymn, 67 
Cradle Hymn, A. 27 
Craik, D. M. : Brownie and the Cook, 
155 

Cry, baby, cry, 6 
Cry in the Night, A, 378 
Cunningham, Allan: A W'et Sheet 
and a Flowing Sea, 72 

David, Some Psalms of. 413 
Dickens, Charles: Letter to Master 
Hughes. 422 

Didactic Stories. 349-361 


462 


Authors , Titles , and First Lines 


Difference and Agreement, 354 
Dog and the Shadow, The, 85 
Down in a green and shady bed, 23 

Eagle, The, 75 

Edgeworth, M.: The Purple Jar, 349 
Elves, The, 139 

Emerson, R. W.: Concord Hymn, 67 
The Rhodora, 74 
Essays, 425-440 

Evening red and morning gray, 10 
Eyes and No Eyes, 356 

Fables, 85-89 
Fairy Stories, 91 182 
Flax, The, 125 
Flint, A, 16 

For A’ That an’ A’ That, 80 
For every evil under the sun, 12 
Fox and the Grapes, The, 89 
Fringed Gentian, To the, 74 
Frog-Prince, The, 140 

Georgy-porgy, pudding and pie, 5 
Gettysburg Address, 446 
Give Me Liberty or Give Me Death, 441 
Gorgon’s Head, The, 267 
Grasshopper and Cricket. On the, 75 
Greenwood Tree, The. 72 
Grimm Brothers: Hans in Luck, 95 
The Elves, 139 
The Frog-Prince, 140 
The Valiant Little Tailor, 98 

Hans in Luck, 95 
Hare and the Tortoise, The, 85 
Harris, Joel Chandler: Brother Rab- 
bit and Brother Bull-Frog, 146 
Hawthorne, Nathaniel: The Gor- 
gon’s Head, 267 

He clasps the crag with crooked 
hands, 75 

Hemans, Felicia Browne: The Land- 
ing of the Pilgrim Fathers, 65 
Henley, W. E.: Invictus, 82 
Henry, Patrick: Give Me Liberty or 
Give Me Death, 441 
Here we go up, up, up, 7 
Hero Story, The, 327-338 
He that would thrive, 11 
Hickory, dickory, dock, 2 
Hippity-hop to the barber shop, 7 
History of Dick Whittington. The. 110 
Holmes, O. W. : Old Ironsides, 67 
The Chambered Nautilus, 77 


Honest and true, black and blue, 9 
Hood, Thomas: Letter to Miss El- 
liot, 421 

Hot-cross buns, 12 
How doth the little busy bee, 26 
How happy is he born and taught, 79 
How pleasant it is at the end of the 
day, 24 

How They Brought the Good News, 56 
Humpty Dumpty sat on the wall , 8 
Husbandman and the Stork. The, 86 
Hush, , my dear, lie still and slumber, 
27 

1 am a gold lock , 9 

/ had a little horse, his name was 
Dapple Gray, 5 
/ have a little sister, 8 
/ saw you toss the kites on high, 17 
/ sprang to the stirrup , 56 
/ wandered lonely as a cloud, 73 
lekity, pickity, ally gadaw, 6 
If I we. e a sunbeam, 20 
Indian Character, Traits of, 425 
In fourteen hundred and ninety-two, 11 
In May, when sea-winds pierced our 
solitudes, 74 

lntery, mintery, cutery corn, 7 
Inty, minty, dibbity fig, 6 
Invictus, 82 

Irving, Washington: Traits of Indi- 
an Character, 425 
Is there for honest poverty, 80 
It is not growing like a tree, 79 
It was in and about the Martinmas 
time, 37 

It was the schooner Hesperus, 49 
Jabberwocky. 28 

Jack and Jill went up the hill, 2 
Jack and the Beanstalk, 133 
Jack Sprat could eat no fat . 1 
Jacobs, Joseph: Jack and the Bean- 
stalk, 133 

The Old W'oman and Her Pig, 91 
The Story of Three Little Pigs, 92 
Johnny’s mad, and I am glad, 5 
Jonson. Ben: The Noble Nature, 79 
Joseph, The Story of, 389 
Jumblies, The, 34 

Keary, Annie and Eliza: Baldur, 315 
Keats, John: La Belle Dame sans 
Merci. 52 

On the Grasshopper and Cricket. 75 


Authors, Titles, and First Lines 


463 


King of the Golden River, The, 161 
Kingsley, Charles: Theseus, 286 
Kinmont Willie, 43 

La Fontaine, Jean de: Fables, 89 
Lamb, Charles and Mary: The Tem- 
pest, 339 
Lamb, The. 13 

Landing of the Pilgrim Fathers, 65 
Land of Counterpane, The, 18 
Land of Storybooks, The, 19 
Larcom, L.: If I were a Sunbeam, 20 
The Brown Thrush, 21 
The Rivulet, 20 
Laughing Song, 14 

Lear, Edward: Nonsense Rhymes, 33 
The Jumblies, 34 
The Owl and the Pussy-Cat, 33 
“ Let’s go to bed,” 1 
Letters, 421-423 

Lincoln, Abraham: Gettysburg Ad- 
dress, 446 
Little Bo-peep , 3 
Little Jack Horner, 2 
Little lamb , who made thee? 13 
Little Miss Muffet, 1 
Little strokes fell great oaks , 11 
Long, W. J.: A Cry in the Night, 378 
Longfellow, H. W.: Psalm of Life, 83 
The Wreck of the Hesperus, 49 
Lord Ullin’s Daughter, 53 
Lovelace, Richard: To Lucasta, on 
Going to the Wars, 70 
Lullaby, 15 
Lyrics, 63-84 

Mabie, H. W. : Thor Goes a-Fishing, 
311 

Marble , marble, roll away, 9 
Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John, 10 
Meddlesome Matty, 22 
Miller, Joaquin: Columbus, 64 
Miller, Olive Thorne: The Busy 
Blue Jay, 375 
Mole on the neck, 10 
Morning Song, A, 26 
My Bed Is a Boat, 18 
My country, ’ tis of thee, 63 
My dear, do you know, 4 
My God, who makes the sun to know , 
26 

My Native Land, 64 
Myths and Legends, 267-326 

Naught, one, work is done, 10 
Noble Nature, The, 79 


Nonsense Rhymes, 33 
Nursery Jingles, 1-12 
Nursery Tales, 91-182 

O Captain! My Captain! 68 
O! have ye na heard o’ the fause Sa - 
kelde? 43 

O, my luve is like a red, red rose, 71 
Of Studies, 434 

Oh young Lochinvar is come out of 
the west , 55 

Old Dan Tucker was a fine old man, 4 
Old Ironsides, 67 

Old Man John sitting down by the 
spring, 5 

Old Mother Hubbard, 2 
Old Woman and Her Pig, The, 91 
One day l went to Body-tot, 8 
One day 1 ivent to my whir ly -whicker- 
whacker, 8 

One-ery, two-ery, three-ery, thum, 6 
One, two, three, four, 10 
One ugly trick has often spoiled, 22 
On the Grasshopper and Cricket, 75 
Opportunity, 82 

Oriental Wonder Story, 181-266 
Out of the night that covers me, 82 
Owl and the Pussy-Cat, The, 33 

Partridge and the Crow, The, 88 
Paul’s Discourse on Charity, 419 
Pease porridge hot, 12 
Perrault. Charles: Blue Beard, 129 
Cinderella, 105 

Peter, Peter, pumpkin, eater, 2 
Peter Piper picked a peck of pickled 
peppers, 6 

Piping Down the Valleys Wild, 13 
Psalm of Life, A, 83 
Psalms of David, 413 
Purple Jar, The, 349 

Quern at the Bottom of the Sea, 
The, 142 

Rab and His Friends, 363 
Rain before seven, 10 
Red, Red Rose, A, 71 
Reproduction, The, 329-348 
Revenge, The, 58 
Rhodora, The, 74 
Riddles, 8-9 
Rivulet, The, 20 

Robin Hood and Allin a Dale, 40 
Roosevelt, Theodore: The American 
Boy, 435 


464 


Authors , Titles , 


Rossetti, Christina: A Flint, 16 
Lullaby, 15 

The City Mouse and the Garden 
Mouse, 15 
The Sisters, 16 
The Wind, 15 
Run, little rivulet, run! 20 
Ruskin, John: The King of the Gold-, 
en River, 161 

Samson, The Story of, 408 
Say Not, the Struggle Nought Avail- 
ed, 80 

Scott, Sir W.: My Native Land, 64 
Sir William Wallace, 327 
Young Lochinvar, 55 
See a pin and pick it up, 11 
Shakespeare, William: The Green- 
wood Tree, 72 
The Tempest, 339 
Shepherd’s Boy, The, 86 
She Walks in Beauty, 70 
Sill, E. R.: Opportunity, 82 
Sing me a song, 16 
Sir Patrick Spence, 38 
Sisters, The, 16 

Smith, Samuel Francis: America, 63 
Star, The, 24 

Star of light, so bright, so bright, 9 
Stevenson, R. L. : My Bed Is a Boat. 18 
The Land of Counterpane, 18 
The Land of Storybooks. 19 
The Whole Duty of Children, 18 
The Wind, 17 
Windy Nights, 17 

Story of the Three Little Pigs, The, 92 
Supposed Speech of John Adams, 443 

Taylor, Ann and Jane: Meddlesome 
Matty, 22 
The Star, 24 
The Violet, 23 
The W'ay to be Happy, 24 
Tell me not, in mournful numbers, 83 
Tell me not. Sweet, l am unkind, 70 
Tempest, The, 339 

Tennyson, Alfred: Bugle Song, 78 
The Eagle, 75 
The Revenge, 58 

The breaking waves dash'd high, 65 
The city mduse lives in a house, 15 
The poetry of earth is never dead, 75 
The splendor falls on castle walls, 78 
The sun was shining on the sea, 30 
There's a merry brown thrush, 21 


Theseus, 286 

They went to sea in a sieve, 34 
This l beheld, or dreamed it, 82 
This is the ship of pearl, 77 
Thor Goes a-Fishing, 311 
Thou blossom bright with autumn 
dew, 74 

To a W'aterfowl, 76 
To Lucasta, on Going to the Wars, 70 
To the Fringed Gentian. 74 
Tortoise and the Geese, The, 87 
Traits of Indian Character, 425 
’ Twas brillig, and the slithy toves, 28 
Twinkle, twinkle, little star, 24 

Ugly Duckling, The, 117 
Under the greenwood tree , 72 

Valiant Little Tailor, The, 98 
Violet, The, 23 

Wallace, Sir William, 327 
W’alrus and the Carpenter, The, 30 
Watts, Isaac: A Cradle Hymn, 27 
Against Idleness and Mischief, 26 
A Morning Song, 26 
Way to be Happy, The, 24 
Webster, Daniel: Supposed Speech 
of John Adams, 443 
We're all in the dumps, 5 
Wet Sheet and a Flowing Sea, A, 72 
When / was sick and lay abed, 18 
When the bees all homeward fly, 10 
When the fog goes up the hill, 10 
When the green wood laughs , 14 
Whither, midst falling dew, 76 
Whitman, Walt: O Captain! My 
Captain! 68 

Whittington and His Cat, 110 
Who has seen the wind? 15 
Whole Duty of Children, The, 18 
Wind, The, 17 
Wind and the Sun, The, 86 
Windy Nights, 17 
Wolf and the Stork, The, 89 
W ; ordsworth, William: I Wandered 
Lonely as a Cloud, 73 
Wotton, Sir Henry: The Character 
of a Happy Life, 79 
Wreck of the Hesperus, The, 49 

You are Old. Father William, 29 
Young Lochinvar, 55 


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PLAY SCHOOL SERIES 
Edited by Clark IV. Hetherington 

j Educating by Story-Telling 1 

I SHOWING THE VALUE OF STORY-TELLING AS AN EDUCA- 1 

| TIONAL TOOL FOR THE USE OF ALL WORKERS WITH CHILDREN | 

| By Katherine Dunlap Cather 

T ATELY an understanding has been growing of the | 

| -I— ' usefulness of the story as a tool for imparting infor- | 

| mation, for leading to an appreciation of the beautiful in | 

| literature and art, and for establishing higher standards | 

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| In this book the various story interests of children are f 

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| Finally there is a discussion of types of stories that lead | 

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| lessons. The teaching of ethics through story-telling | 

| is discussed and attention is directed also to the use of | 

| story-telling as a basis for dramatization. Each chapter | 

I ends with a bibliography of stories of the type considered f 

| in the chapter. There is a general bibliography of story | 

| literature and a list of stories arranged by grades for use | 

I in each month of the year. 

| The book contains thirty stories, models of simple and | 

1 direct narrative, many of which will be new even to | 

| experienced story-tellers. | 

| It will give experienced story-tellers many new ideas and | 

1 give help and encouragement to the inexperienced. 

| The author is perhaps the best known writer on story- | 

| telling in this country. 

§ Cloth. xx-{-3q 6 pages. Price $1.60 

WORLD BOOK COMPANY 

Yonkers-on-Hudson, New York 
2126 Prairie Avenue, Chicago 


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